How does the workplace environment influence diet and eating behaviours? A scoping review

Background and aims

Diet and eating behaviours are influenced by environment. One important exposure for the adult population is the workplace environment. This scoping review systematically maps existing observational literature investigating associations between the workplace environment and diet and/or eating behaviours.

Methods

A systematic search (updated in April 2026) was conducted across Medline, Embase, Scopus, PsycInfo, Web of Science and ASSIA for observational studies investigating associations between the workplace environment and diet and eating behaviours. Initial title/abstract screening using inclusion and exclusion criteria was followed by full text screening in duplicate before data extraction.

Results

The search yielded 30,302 studies after de-duplication. 196 studies were included. The largest number of studies were from Europe (n = 70) followed by Asia (n = 55) then North America (n = 42). The most commonly studied occupations were nursing (n = 37) and other healthcare groups (n = 26). The majority of studies (n = 177) were quantitative. Papers were categorised across 9 workplace exposures and 19 diet/eating behaviour outcomes. Frequently examined exposures included shift work (n = 91), job stress/strain (n = 68) and working hours (n = 46) whereas job security (n = 6), place of work (n = 10) and worksite support (n = 13) were the least studied. Less than half of studies (n = 73) included a measure of overall diet quality and n = 54 reported fruit/vegetable intake. Eating behaviour outcomes reported most frequently were timing of eating (n = 54) and place of eating (n = 13).

Conclusions

This scoping review highlights the available literature on the links between workplace exposures and diet and behaviour outcomes. The review highlights underinvestigated workplace exposures and diet outcomes which warrant further exploration. Better understanding of these associations would support development of stronger workplace policies to support healthy diets and public health.

Key messages

• Job security (n = 6), place of work (n = 10) and worksite support (n = 13) were understudied workplace exposures potentially influencing diet, meaning future studies could investigate these further.

• Over 32% of studies focussed on healthcare professions, with literature in other industries relatively limited. Future studies could investigate other industries in more depth.