Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food Choices

Nutritional knowledge as well as economic, social, biological, and cultural factors have been known to determine an individual’s food choices. Despite the existence of research on the factors which influence nutrition globally, there is little known about the extent to which these factors influence...

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Main Authors: Chioma Sylvia Okoro MTech, Innocent Musonda PhD, Justus Agumba PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2017-11-01
Series:American Journal of Men's Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988315625775
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spelling doaj-4f9616b5e5204cbbb09facd3fb8425f72020-11-25T03:03:21ZengSAGE PublishingAmerican Journal of Men's Health1557-98831557-98912017-11-011110.1177/1557988315625775Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food ChoicesChioma Sylvia Okoro MTech0Innocent Musonda PhD1Justus Agumba PhD2University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South AfricaUniversity of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South AfricaUniversity of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South AfricaNutritional knowledge as well as economic, social, biological, and cultural factors have been known to determine an individual’s food choices. Despite the existence of research on the factors which influence nutrition globally, there is little known about the extent to which these factors influence the food choices of construction workers, which in turn influence their health and safety during construction activities. The present article investigates the extent to which construction workers’ nutrition is influenced by nutritional knowledge, as well as economic, environmental, social, psychological, and physiological factors. A field questionnaire survey was conducted on site construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Principal components analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that consumption of foods termed alternative foods including dairy products, eggs, nuts, fish, and cereals, was influenced by nutritional knowledge and resources. Foods termed traditional core foods were influenced by cultural background; foods termed secondary core foods comprising fruits and vegetables were influenced by economic factors, resources, and cultural background; while foods termed core foods were mostly influenced by nutritional knowledge. By providing evidence of the factors which most influence selection and consumption of certain foods by construction workers, relevant nutrition interventions will be designed and implemented, taking cognizance of these factors.https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988315625775
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Chioma Sylvia Okoro MTech
Innocent Musonda PhD
Justus Agumba PhD
spellingShingle Chioma Sylvia Okoro MTech
Innocent Musonda PhD
Justus Agumba PhD
Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food Choices
American Journal of Men's Health
author_facet Chioma Sylvia Okoro MTech
Innocent Musonda PhD
Justus Agumba PhD
author_sort Chioma Sylvia Okoro MTech
title Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food Choices
title_short Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food Choices
title_full Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food Choices
title_fullStr Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food Choices
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating the Influence of Nutrition Determinants on Construction Workers’ Food Choices
title_sort evaluating the influence of nutrition determinants on construction workers’ food choices
publisher SAGE Publishing
series American Journal of Men's Health
issn 1557-9883
1557-9891
publishDate 2017-11-01
description Nutritional knowledge as well as economic, social, biological, and cultural factors have been known to determine an individual’s food choices. Despite the existence of research on the factors which influence nutrition globally, there is little known about the extent to which these factors influence the food choices of construction workers, which in turn influence their health and safety during construction activities. The present article investigates the extent to which construction workers’ nutrition is influenced by nutritional knowledge, as well as economic, environmental, social, psychological, and physiological factors. A field questionnaire survey was conducted on site construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Principal components analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that consumption of foods termed alternative foods including dairy products, eggs, nuts, fish, and cereals, was influenced by nutritional knowledge and resources. Foods termed traditional core foods were influenced by cultural background; foods termed secondary core foods comprising fruits and vegetables were influenced by economic factors, resources, and cultural background; while foods termed core foods were mostly influenced by nutritional knowledge. By providing evidence of the factors which most influence selection and consumption of certain foods by construction workers, relevant nutrition interventions will be designed and implemented, taking cognizance of these factors.
url https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988315625775
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