Teachers on temporary employment contracts reveal more frequent consumption of pre-prepared food

Abstract

The scope of this article is to analyze the eating behavior of schoolteachers according to the type of employment contract. Interviews were conducted at 20 public state schools in Londrina, State of Paraná, between 2012 and 2013. Of the 978 teachers interviewed, 672 (68.7%) had permanent employment contracts and 306 (31.3%) were on temporary employment contracts. High frequencies of recommended eating behaviors – consumption of fruit, vegetables and/or vegetables and removing visible fat from red meat – were observed in teachers with a permanent employment contract. On the other hand, teachers with temporary employment contracts revealed a high frequency of non-recommended eating behaviors with consumption of pre-prepared foods and packaged drinks or sodas. It was highlighted that a high frequency of consumption of pre-prepared foods was statistically associated with the type of employment contract irrespective of sociodemographic, lifestyle and health status factors.