Dietary patterns of bank employees and their association with socioeconomic, behavioral and labor factors

This paper aimed to evaluate food consumption of bank employees and its association with socioeconomic, behavioral and labor factors. This is a cross-sectional study with 515 bank employees. To evaluate food consumption, a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used. The analysis of main components with Varimax rotation was used to determine the dietary patterns. Three dietary patterns were identified: "vegetables, fruits, cereals and tubers", "sweets and snacks" and "traditional and protein". We found that individuals who did not consume sweeteners were more likely to adhere to the "vegetables, fruits, cereals and tubers" pattern and were less likely to adhere to the "sweets and snacks" and "traditional and protein" patterns. Bank employees who rarely ate in restaurants were three times more likely to adhere to the "sweets and snacks" pattern. However, those who used to consume industrialized seasoning and those who reported receiving low social support were, respectively, 2.3 and 1.5 times more likely to adhere to the "traditional and protein" pattern. We can conclude that food consumption of bank employees is not related to the sociodemographic conditions of these individuals, and behavior and perception of social support received is associated with these dietary patterns.O presente artigo busca avaliar o consumo alimentar de trabalhadores bancários e sua associação com fatores socioeconômicos, comportamentais e laborais. Trata-se de um estudo transversal com 515 bancários. Para avaliar o consumo alimentar foi utilizado Questionário de Frequência Alimentar semiquantitativo, empregando-se a análise de componentes principais com rotação varimax para determinação dos padrões alimentares. Foram identificados três padrões alimentares: “hortaliças, frutas, cereais e tubérculos”, “doces e petiscos” e “tradicional e proteico”. Constatou-se que os indivíduos que não consumiam adoçantes possuíam mais chances de aderirem ao padrão “hortaliças, frutas, cereais e tubérculos” e menos chances de aderirem aos padrões “doces e petiscos” e “tradicional e proteico”. Os bancários, que raramente comiam em restaurante, tinham três vezes mais adesão ao “doces e petiscos”. Entretanto, os que consumiam temperos industrializados e os que relataram receber baixo apoio social tinham, respectivamente, 2,3 e 1,5 vezes mais chances de aderirem ao “tradicional e proteico”. Conclui-se que o consumo alimentar de bancários não está relacionado às condições sociodemográficas destes indivíduos, estando associado a estes padrões alimentares, o comportamento e a percepção do apoio social recebido.