Factors Influencing Food Choices among Construction Workers: A Correlation Analysis, Essays (high school) of English

Download Factors Influencing Food Choices among Construction Workers: A Correlation Analysis and more Essays (high school) English in PDF only on Docsity! A CORRELATION STUDY OF NUTRITION AND FACTORS INFLUENCING FOOD CHOICES AMONG CONSTRUCTION WORKERS Okoro, C.', Musonda, I’ and Agumba Je '2&3§chool of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg ABSTRACT Nutrition is known to be linked with worker health and safety (H&S) performance. Literature suggests that construction workers have poor nutrition and this adversely affects their health, wellbeing and safety on construction sites. Strategies to improve their nutrition warrant considerable attention. This paper aims to identify significant relationships between factors influencing nutrition and the food choices of construction workers. Empirical data for the correlational study were collected through a field questionnaire survey on site construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Principal components analysis and Pearson’s correlation analysis were conducted. Findings revealed that food context, nutritional knowledge, resources and personal ideas and systems were significantly associated with choice of foods. By highlighting the factors which are correlated with nutritional choices amongst construction workers, the study provides valuable evidence which will allow for the development and implementation of efficient and successful intervention programs geared towards improving construction workers’ nutrition and thus site safety performance. Keywords: Construction workers, factors, health and safety, nutrition, South Africa Introduction The construction sector is notorious for being one of the most dangerous industries along with transportation, mining and agricultural sectors. It accounts for 30 — 40% percent of the world’s fatal injuries (Murie, 2007). This is in spite of its importance in economic development through employment provision and __ infrastructure development (Oladinrin et al., 2012). The construction sector accounts for 7% of global employment and contributes 10% to global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Women in Informal Employment, Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), 2014). The construction industry contributes approximately 4% to the GDP of South Africa ‘chiomasokoro@ gmail.com 7imusonda@uj.ac.za 3jagumba@ uj.ac.za Okoro, cl Musonda, ta Agumba, ai (2015) A Correlational Study Of Nutrition And Factors Influencing Food Choices Among Construction Workers In: Mojekwu, J.N., Nani G., Atepor, L., Thwala,W.D., Ogunsumi, L., Awere E., Ocran,S.P., and Bamfo-Agyei, E. (Eds) Procs 4" Applied Research Conference in Africa. (ARCA) Conference, 27-29 Au; 2015, Ibadan, Nigeri: 212-225 Page 212 (Statistics South Africa, 2014). The notoriety of the construction industry in terms of its poor H&S performance underscores the need for increased focus on ways to improve H&S performance in the industry. One of such ways is through improving the nutrition of its workers (Luckhaupt and Calvert, 2014). Construction workers’ nutrition is paramount in producing high-quality work and reducing the risks of accidents, injuries and illnesses (Luckhaupt and Calvert, ibid.). Adequate nourishment, through consumption of a variety of foods from different classes of food, including proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fats and oil, can raise national productivity by 20% (WHO, 2015). It is therefore imperative to conduct research on the nutrition of construction workers who have fundamental roles in construction processes. Additionally, it is important to dwell on the factors which determine the food choices of construction works in particular because improving nutrition requires an understanding of the factors which either constrain or encourage particular food choices (European Food Information Council (EUFIC), 2005). Extant literature suggests that construction workers have poor nutrition (Groeneveld et al., 2011; English & Bowen, 2011; Tiwary et al., 2012; Okoro et al., 2014). There is also a plethora of literature on the factors which influence food choices (Sobal and Bisogni, 2009; Rose et al., 2010; Arganini et al., 2012; Bruner and Chad, 2014). However, it appears that there is a dearth of empirical studies focusing on the relationship between food choices and the factors which influence food choices. The objective of the present paper is to evaluate this relationship. Knowledge of the factors which are significantly related to food choices could inform the design and implementation of future nutrition interventions for construction workers. The objective of the present study is to identify significant relationships between food choices and factors influencing food choices. Literature Review Construction Workers’ Nutrition Research has shown that construction workers have a habit of eating unhealthily (Men’s Health Forum (MHF, 2009). According to the MHF in the United Kingdom (UK) (ibid.), the food choices of construction workers consist mainly of fatty foods which they consume with the belief that they will be enabled to perform their physically-demanding tasks. The UK study conducted interviews with construction workers and industry stakeholders and reported that male workers were more likely to make unhealthy food choices due to poor nutritional knowledge. ‘chiomasokoro@ gmail.com 7imusonda@uj.ac.za 3 jagumba@ uj.ac.za Okoro, cl Musonda, ta Agumba, ae (2015) A Correlational Study Of Nutrition And Factors Influencing Food Choices Among Construction Workers In: Mojekwu, J.N., Nani G., Atepor, L., Thwala,W.D., Ogunsumi, L., Awere E., Ocran,S.P., and Bamfo-Agyei, E. (Eds) Procs 4" Applied Research Conference in Africa. (ARCA) Conference, 27-29 August 2015, Ibadan, Nigeria. 2. 5 Page 213 the large number of variables and refine the structures (Pallant, 2013). Preliminary considerations for PCA were assessed. The sample size requirement of 150+ was met; the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) values for the measure of sampling adequacy exceeded the recommended value of 0.6; and the Bartlett’s spericity tests reached statistical significance at p = .000 (<.05), supporting suitability of data for factor analysis (Pallant, 2013). Outputs from the PCA (principal components), which contributed to the variance in the data sets were then adopted, retained, interpreted and used for correlation analysis. Decisions on which factors to retain were made using the Kaiser’s criterion (retaining eigenvalues above 1) and scree test (retaining factors above the “breaking point”). Pearson’s correlation analysis was subsequently conducted in order to assess the strength of the relationships between the food choices and influencing factors. Pearson’s correlation was thought to be suitable because the distribution of data was normal (Pallant, ibid.). Cronbach’s alpha a test and inter-item s internal consistency reliability before and after PCA. Before PCA,a indices of the constructs ranged from 0.71 to 0.84, indicating good internal consistency. After PCA, a values ranged from 0.43 to 0.85. One of the food choice components had 0.43 but was still retained becauseit had a mean inter-item correlation of 0.27. Where a values are low, it is more appropriate to report mean inter-item correlations (Pallant, 2013). Mean inter-item correlation values ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 indicate good internal consistency (Pallant, ibid.). correlations were used to as: Findings and Discussion Results from PCA With regard to the food choices, four components, accounting for 61.45% of the total variance, were extracted and retained. Interpretation of the four factors revealed strong item-loadings on the first two components and weak loadings on the 3 and 4" components (shown in Table 1). Components 3 and 4 were still retained because they had good and fairly acceptable Cronbach’s alpha values, respectively. In addition, the fourth component contained important, universal and core foods usually consumed together (Carmona, 2004). The four components were named alternative foods(dairy, eggs, nuts, fish, cereals), traditional core foods(extra salt, sugary food, fried food, pasta, grains), secondary core foods (vegetables, fruits) and core foods(meat, corn meal), respectively. The components were named based on their nature, importance and universality amongst the study participants (Carmona, ibid.). With regard to the factors influencing nutrition, seven components accounting for 60.09% of the total variance were retained, after repeated analysis. Interpretation ‘chiomasokoro@ gmail.com 7imusonda@uj.ac.za x jagumba@ uj.ac.za Okoro, cl Musonda, ta Agumba, ae (2015) A Correlational Study Of Nutrition And Factors Influencing Food Choices Among Construction Workers In: Mojekwu, J.N., Nani G., Atepor, L., Thwala,W.D., Ogunsumi, L., Awere E., Ocran,S.P., and Bamfo-Agyei, E. (Eds) Procs 4" Applied Research Conference in Africa. (ARCA) Conference, 27-29 August 2015, Ibadan, Nigeria. 2. 5 Page 216 (Appendix) revealed that items loaded evenly on each component. The seven factors were thereafter renamed based on the nature of their structure and with support from literature. The seven components were retained for further analysis. They are as follows: food context ( including brand name, food in season, time constraints, location, cooking skills and marketing strategies); biological factors (including taste of the food, appetite, appearance, quality, hunger and satiety); nutritional knowledge (including knowledge about food sources of energy, about sources of food nutrients, about health implications of consuming or not consuming particular foods, and about the daily dietary requirements); personal ideas and systems (including eating habits, cynical attitude towards nutrition promotion, mood, the fact that healthy food help to enhance concentration, peers/colleagues’ influence, the need to belong to a social group, social media and networking, belief that avoiding meat will keep one healthier, belief that killing animals for food is not good, and belief about adequacy of current diet); economic factors (including cost/price of food, availability of food, wages/income and food discounts); resources (including on-site facilities for food storage and preservation, and heating up food, eating facilities such as benches, washing bowls, etc., knowledge of nutritional requirements for existing health conditions, for age and body size, the fact that healthy food will help to increase productivity and the fact that one will lose or add weight with certain foods); and cultural background (including knowledge of what to eat as a man or woman, and what to eat for the type of work engaged in, belief that one should only eat food from their culture and belief that avoiding meat will save money). Table 1: Loading Matrix of Food Choice Components Item Component 1 (alternative 2 (traditional 3 (secondary 4 (core foods) core foods) core foods) foods) Dairy products .702 -.137 029 042 Eggs -683 -.099 014 71 Nuts -680 105 088 -.105 Fish 590 136 -.005 -.034 Cereals 405 353 183 -.231 Extra salt -.026 725 -.281 O71 A lot of sugary .014 666 -.036 167 foods A lot of fried -.172 609 .248 -.009 foods ‘chiomasokoro@ gmail.com 7imusonda@uj.ac.za ‘jagumba@ uj.ac.za Okoro, cl Musonda, ta Agumba, ae (2015) A Correlational Study Of Nutrition And Factors Influencing Food Choices Among Construction Workers In: Mojekwu, J.N., Nani G., Atepor, L., Thwala,W.D., Ogunsumi, L., Awere E., Ocran,S.P., and Bamfo-Agyei, E. (Eds) Procs 4 Applied Research Conference in Africa. (ARCA) Conference. 29 August 2015, Ibadan, Nigeria. Page 217 Pasta 268 466 .206 -.141 Grains like rice .127 420 -.018 -.036 Vegetables -.002 -.083 795 .166 Fruits -120 -.018 793 052 Meat 078 010 044 597 Corn meal -.049 085 075 -336 Results from Correlation Analysis A correlation matrix was constructed in order to discover important relationships between the nutrition variables (food choices) and factors influencing food choices, using Pearson’s correlation. Table 2 presents the results of the analysis. There was a statistically significant small positive relationship between food context and alternative foods (r = .228, N = 179, p = <.01), as well as between food context and traditional core foods (r = .277, N = 180, p = <.01). These findings seem to suggest that the more time available to prepare certain foods, a higher ability to prepare such foods are associated with more choice of alternative and traditional core foods. These findings support the views of the EUFIC (2005). The relationship between biological factors and core foods was small, but significant (r= .218, N = 177, p = <.01). This seems to suggest that higher rates of consumption of meat and corn meal may be associated with a higher appetite and level of satisfaction, as well as better taste, appearance and quality of the foods. This finding is in line with the views of the EUFFIC (2005). A small significant correlation was indicated between nutritional knowledge and alternative foods (r = .284, N = 178, p = <.01), as well as between nutritional knowledge and secondary core foods (r = .203, N = 179, p = <.01), with higher rates of consumption of dairy, fish, eggs, cereals, fruits and vegetables, associated with increased knowledge about nutrition and an awareness of the health benefits of consuming healthful foods. This finding is consistent with findings from a study by Soederberg-Miller and Cassidy (2012) which indicated that knowledge and understanding about nutrition enhances dietary modifications and enables better decision-making with regard to choosing healthy foods. There was a medium positive correlation between personal ideas and systems and traditional core foods (r = .321, N = 178, p = <.01). This seems to suggest that higher consumption of pasta, grains, as well as fried, salty and sugary foods is associated ‘chiomasokoro@ gmail.com 7imusonda@uj.ac.za 3jagumba@ uj.ac.za Okoro, cl Musonda, ta Agumba, ai (2015) A Correlational Study Of Nutrition And Factors Influencing Food Choices Among Construction Workers In: Mojekwu, J.N., Nani G., Atepor, L., Thwala,W.D., Ogunsumi, L., Awere E., Ocran,S.P., and Bamfo-Agyei, E. (Eds) Procs 4" Applied Research Conference in Africa. (ARCA) Conference, 27-29 August 2015, Ibadan, Nigeria. 212-225 Page 218 Resources Pearson 372 295 239 000 Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) 000 000 001 999 N 180 181 182 180 Cultural Pearson -198 332 -.032 -.031 background Correlation Sig. (2-tailed) .007 000 669 -683 N 181 182 182 181 5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations The study set out to evaluate the relationship between food choices and the factors influencing food choices among construction workers in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Significant relationships were mostly found between food choices and food context, nutritional knowledge, resources and personal ideas and systems. The findings could be useful in designing, developing and implementing future nutrition intervention programmes for construction workers specifically, focusing on these significant factors. In an effort to improve the nutritional quality of their workers, construction employers and managers should provide different forums for educating and informing the workers about the importance of healthy eating. Additionally, personal ideas and views could be reformed, through nutrition education, to encourage healthy food choices. Furthermore, provision of areas and facilities for eating and storing foods could encourage bringing healthy food from home. These interventions could encourage construction workers to make better food choices, which will in turn improve their health, wellbeing and safety on sites. The findings in this paper are subject to one limitation. The study was conducted in only one province of South Africa and may not be generalizable to other geographical regions. Future research could evaluate the relationship between food choices and the factors which are known to influence food choices using workers in another location or using a different sample of workers. 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