Effects of an education program on healthy eating habits on the nutritional status of workers of an Ecuadorian company in confinement

Abstract

Unhealthy eating and physical inactivity are the main risk factors for the development of overweight and obesity in workers. Nutritional education strategies in workplace could positively influence of consumption, nutritional status, work performance and lead to healthy dietary habits. The objective of the study was measure the effect of a virtual education program on healthy habits, nutritional status and food consumption in workers of a food processing company in Ecuador during confinement by Sars-CoV2.  Methodology: Longitudinal, quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design aimed at 117 administrative workers that participated voluntarily. Pre-test and post-test questionnaire was applied, included age, gender and weight, height and BMI. To assess the quality of the diet, the healthy eating index was applied according to the Food Guidelines for Ecuador (FG-Ecuador).  6 groups were formed to 25 to 30 participants that received 7 virtual educational sessions 2 hours. In 4 modules: Healthy Living, Nutrition, Gastronomy and Physical Activity. Results: The score FG-Ecuador pre-test was 65.38st, increasing post-test to 83.9st (DS=8.53) (p=0.000). About nutritional status, normal nutritional status, in pre-test was 36%, increasing to 50.43% post-test (p=0.000). Overweight decreased from 41% pre-test to 37.6%, obesity also 23.1% to 12% (p=0.027). Individuals classified pre-test as normal, 11.9% were classified by FG-Ecuador as healthy, increasing 71.2% post-test. This change in nutritional status was significant. Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of promoting educational programs on healthy habits to help workers acquire the knowledge and skills to develop healthy habts that can influence the change of habits and their nutritional status.