Nutrition health literacy and shift work in Austria: preliminary results from the Shift2Health study

Background

Shift work is associated with adverse health outcomes and creates structural barriers to healthy dietary behaviors. Nutrition health literacy (NHL) may support decision-making under such conditions. This study examined NHL levels in an Austrian working population by shift work status and associations with anthropometric outcomes.

Methods

Preliminary results from the Austrian cross-sectional subsample of the SHIFT2HEALTH project are shown. Night shift work was defined as ≥ 3 hours of work between 00:00–05:00 for at least 3 years. NHL was assessed using the Nutritional Health Literacy Scale and categorized based on HLS-EU cut-offs. Sociodemographic, anthropometric data (BMI, body fat %, body fat mass via BIA) and self-rated health were included. Non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney U, Spearman correlations) were applied.

Results

The sample included 248 participants (mean age 38.0 ± 9.9 years; 39.9% female), with 59.3% night shift and 40.7% day workers from health and industry sector. Overall, mean NHL score was 62.4 (SD = 19.0), with 61.3% showing limited NHL. Subscale scores were highest for access (M = 71.7) and understand (M = 67.7), but lowest for appraise (M = 51.8) and apply (M = 58.4). NHL did not differ by shift work status, sector or sociodemographics. Across the sample, NHL was inversely associated with body fat % (r = –.204, p = .001) and body fat mass (r = –.144, p = .024), but not with BMI. The apply domain showed associations with BMI (r = –.188, p = .003), body fat % (r = –.264, p < .001), and body fat (kg) (r = –.187, p = .003). Lower NHL was also linked to poorer self-rated health (r = –.290, p < .001).

Conclusions

A high prevalence of limited NHL in this working population was shown. The apply domain appears particulary relevant, highlighting the importance of translating nutrition‑related knowledge into practice as a potentially key component of NHL in relation to body composition. No differences by shift work status were observed.

Key messages

• The findings suggest a weak but significant inverse relationship between overall NHL score and body fat, while the apply dimension was associated with all anthropometric outcomes, including BMI.

• The ability to apply nutritional knowledge may represent a key behavioral pathway linking NHL to health outcomes, independent of shift work status.