title: Serving the food nation: Exploring Body Mass Index in food service workers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity is a public health concern in North America. Consumption of food prepared outside of the home is often discussed as a contributing factor.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether or not Canadian food service workers are more likely to have high Body Mass Indices (BMIs) as compared with the general population, and to examine factors that contribute to BMI in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses of secondary survey data from Cycle 5.1 of the Canadian Community Health Survey were performed. Descriptive statistics were generated to examine food service workers' risk of having above normal BMI compared to other Canadians. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors contributing to variation in BMI among food service workers. Analyses were stratified by age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Canadian food service workers are less likely to have BMIs in the overweight and obese ranges than the general population. Stratification by age demonstrated that this decreased risk can be attributed to the fact that food service workers tend to be younger than the general population. As age increases among food service workers, the odds of having a BMI in the overweight and obese ranges increases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Food service workers in general were not at higher risk for high BMI, but those between the ages of 41 and 64 are at higher risk of having a BMI in the overweight or obese ranges. The findings suggest that proximity to food service outlets may not be the most salient factor in explaining BMI.
authors.affiliation: CIHR Strategic Training Fellow in the ACHIEVE Research Partnership: Action for Health Equity Interventions, Centre for Research on Inner City Health, Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Woodhall-Melnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology & Legal Studies and School of Public Health & Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cooke
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health & Health Systems, University of Waterloo and, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Philip L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Bigelow
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005522:Food Services; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016272:Occupational Health; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body Mass Index; Food service work; obesity; overweight; social determinants of health