title: Association between occupational psychosocial factors and waist circumference is modified by diet among men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Occupational psychosocial stress has been identified as a risk factor for obesity, whereas dietary habits have a key role in weight control. We examined whether dietary habits modify the association between occupational psychosocial factors and waist circumference.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data comprised 31-year-old men (n=2222) and women (n=2053) in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. Waist circumference was measured and data on occupational psychosocial factors (demands, control and social support) and other characteristics were obtained through questionnaires. Healthy and unhealthy diet indices were constructed according to the current dietary guidelines. Associations were examined using analysis of variance adjusted for body mass index at age 14, basic education level, leisure-time physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, stress-related eating behaviour and parity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among men, high job demands and high job control were associated with greater waist circumferences, and there were interactions between unhealthy diet and job demands (P=0.043) and job control (P=0.036) in relation to waist circumference. The waist of men with high demands or high control and low consumption of unhealthy foods (red/processed meat, hamburgers and pizzas, fried potatoes, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and white bread) was smaller than that of men with high demands or high control and high consumption of such foods. No associations were found among women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A diet based on the current dietary guidelines seems to cancel out the adverse effects of occupational psychosocial factors on waist circumference among young men. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess the risks for obesity-related diseases arising from psychosocial work environments and dietary habits.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jääskeläinen
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaila-Kangas
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leino-Arjas
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: M-L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lindbohm
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nevanperä
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Remes
authors.affiliation: Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu, Finland.|Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.|MRC Health Protection Agency (HPA) Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.|Unit of Primary Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: M-R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Järvelin
authors.affiliation: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laitinen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055105:Waist Circumference; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology