Dietary Patterns and Nutrient Intakes Among Working Adults Across 2 Metro Cities in India

Private sector employees are frequently exposed to stressful situations like long working hours, harsh deadlines, and high sedentary time. These influence their diets, making them vulnerable to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The current study aimed at assessing the diets of sedentary employees from 2 regions of India: (1) Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), (2) Bengaluru. This would help in understanding the dietary patterns of employees. Employees (n=390) were enrolled from 17 worksites in this cross-sectional study. Sociodemographic and dietary data (using 2-day 24-hour recall and Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were collected. DietCal software was used to estimate the nutrient intakes, which were compared with the estimated average requirements (EAR). Ultraprocessed foods (UPF) intake was assessed using the NOVA-UPF screener. Statistical analysis was conducted using MS-Excel and STATA. Both cities had similar sociodemographics. A total of 4%, 60%, and 40% did not fall within the recommended ranges for percentage calories from proteins, fats and carbohydrates, respectively. The prevalence of inadequacy for micronutrients was also high (calcium: 70%, zinc: 99%, riboflavin: 998%, niacin: 74%, folate: 85.%, ascorbic acid: 54%, vitamin B 12 : 93% and retinol: 59%), with more Bengaluru subjects contributing to this prevalence ( P <0.05). Eighty-nine percent had sodium intakes that exceeded the recommended limit, while only 3% had potassium intakes at or above the recommended intake. This indicated poor diets among subjects. A higher percentage of Delhi subjects consumed UPFs (76%) than Bengaluru (48.%). Subjects had poor nutrient intake, with high fat and salt intake, and processed/fast food consumption. Educating employees about healthy diets and ensuring healthier food environments could reduce the NCD burden.