The influence of frequent consumption of foods-away-from-home on the total diet quality and weight status among faculty and staff.
Objective: To assess the dietary quality and determine the influence of food-away-from-home (FAFH) on dietary quality and weight status among faculty and staff. Participants and methods: Faculty and staff (n = 152) from a public university completed an online Food Frequency Questionnaire. Number of FAFH consumed per week, dietary intakes, dietary quality as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015, and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Results: On average participants consumed FAFH four times per week. FAFH was associated with increased intake of trans-fats (p < 0.05) and reduced HEI scores (p < 0.01). Increased consumption of trans-fats was associated with a high BMI (p < 0.001). Conversely, an increase in the HEI-2015 score was associated with a reduction in BMI (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Results suggest that the consumption of FAFH increased the intake of trans-fats and decreased diet quality, while improvements in diet quality, as measured by the HEI-score, were associated with reduced BMI among faculty and staff.
['Moyeda-Carabaza|Ana F|AF|https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9765-4470', 'Githinji|Phrashiah|P|', 'Nguyen|Bong|B|', 'Murimi|Mary|M|']
weight status faculty and staff food-away-from-home Dietary intakes Healthy Eating Index