A study on call center agents finds that food intake and physical activity are associated with obesity. Interestingly, the same study also reveals that alcohol consumption, specifically beer, was consumed more by regular shift workers than by late shift workers.

Said study titled “The Role of Alcohol Consumption, Food Intake, and Physical Activity on the Prevalence of Obesity Among Filipino Call Center Agents” by Patrick Venjoe R. Calingasan and others from the Nutrition and Dietetics Department of the University of Sto. Tomas.  The team looked into three lifestyle factors among the 218 call center agents, specifically  their alcohol consumption, food intake, and physical activity.

The study suggests that nutrition education on proper food choices and application of moderate physical occupation of shift workers could help improve the workers’ health.

In another study on call center agents, “Partial Least Square Regression Modelling of the Factors Affecting the Risk for Obesity of Graveyard Shift Call Center Agents” by Richie Mae U. Abache and others, also from UST, studied 100 call center agents and found that fifty percent of them were obese. The study found an association between budget to eating pattern, eating pattern to total dietary intake, and budget to total dietary intake.

The Philippines’ Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry is estimated to bring in revenues of up to $24 billion by the end of the year, providing jobs for millions of Filipinos and significantly contributing to the country’s economy. Thus tehere is a need to address the physical and psychological well being of workers in this sector, especially the call center agents.

The results of these studies were exhibited in the last 17th Conference of the Science Council of Asia, which was jointly organised by the Department of Science and Technology- National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP), the Science Council of Asia, and the Science Council of Japan. (Geraldine Bulaon-Ducusin, S&T Media Service)