Eating Behaviors in Shift Workers

The Interaction of Shift Work and Food Environment on Eating Behaviors and Appetite

This study will compare eating behaviors and measures of hunger and fullness between day and night workers in order to better understand why night workers are at increased risk for obesity and related diseases.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Eating Behavior; Shift Work Type Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Portion size

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 55 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Work ~ 8-hour shifts during day or night on 3 or more consecutive days of the week
• BMI 19-35 kg/m^2
• Age 20-55 years of age
• Metabolically healthy
• Weight stable over previous 3 months
• Lives in New York City area

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant or less than 1 year postpartum at time of study
• Smoking
• History of drug or alcohol abuse
• Rotating shift work
• Habitual sleep duration of more than 6 hour per night
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Transmeridian travel
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Hypertension
• Participation in diet or weight loss program in the 3 months prior to enrollment
• Psychiatric or sleep disorder
• Food allergies or intolerances
• Dislike of or unwillingness to eat test foods

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Day worker; Men and women who work only day shift for at least 3 consecutive days of the week	Behavioral: Portion size; The amount of food served (g) at the first two meals of each day. These amounts will vary across 4 weeks.
Active Comparator: Night worker; Men and women who work only night shift for at least 3 consecutive days of the week	Behavioral: Portion size; The amount of food served (g) at the first two meals of each day. These amounts will vary across 4 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Food intake	Food by weight (g) in response to variations in portion served	24-hours intake period
Energy intake	Food by energy (kcal) in response to variations in portion served	24-hours intake period
Energy density consumed	Energy density consumed (kcal/g) in response to variations in portion served	24-hours intake period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Appetite-regulating hormones	Appetite-regulating hormones, including Glucagon-like-peptide 1 (GLP-1) and ghrelin will be analyzed from plasma from whole blood samples collected while fasted and at 30, 60, 90, and 120 min postprandial. Area under the curve of plasma concentrations will be calculated for each individual appetite-regulating hormone	2-hours measurement period
Hunger and fullness	Subjective measures related to hunger, fullness, and prospective consumption will be measured before and after meals via visual analog scales. The range of scores are 0 mm to 100 mm, with higher scores indicating greater feelings of the corresponding measure (e.g. greater hunger). Post-meal measures, adjusted for the corresponding pre-meal measure, will be analyzed as individual outcomes. Area under the curve will also be calculated for each measure.	24-hours measurement period

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Columbia University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Faris M Zuraikat, PhD, Columbia University; Principal Investigator: Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, Columbia University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 14, 2020
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 30, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 10, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): July 13, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 25, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 23, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Behavior, Animal; Feeding Behavior; Diet, Food, and Nutrition; Physiological Phenomena; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Diet; Portion Size
• Other Study ID Numbers: AAAS8559

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified individual participant data (IPD) will be shared with other researchers upon request.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: After the study is completed (data collection, analysis, publication) and after any subsequent funding applications have been submitted.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Upon request
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No