Eating behaviour and emotional eating patterns of urban and long-distance bus drivers - a comparative analysis using...

The health behaviours of professional drivers, including eating habits, directly affect their health, cognitive function, and consequently, road safety. Emotional eating, i.e., the consumption of food in response to stress and emotions, poses a particular threat to this occupational group. However, despite the growing interest in drivers' health, comparative analyses between different groups of drivers in terms of eating behaviour remain scarce. Therefore, this study analyses differences in eating behaviour between urban and long-distance bus drivers and the impact of specific occupational demands on dietary choices.

Urban (N = 229) and long-distance (N = 271) bus drivers from 14 Polish provinces were surveyed using three tools: the Healthy and Unhealthy Eating Behaviours Scale (HUEBS), Salzburg Stress Eating Scale (SSES) and Salzburg Emotional Eating Scale (SEES).

City drivers show healthier eating habits than long-distance drivers (p <.001). In stressful situations, long-distance drivers are more likely to reach for food (p =.011) and eat in response to anxiety (p =.001), despite experiencing lower levels of occupational stress. No significant differences between the driver groups were found in terms of emotional eating related to sadness, anger, and happiness. Moreover, a positive correlation was observed in the whole studied sample between unhealthy eating and stress eating (r = 0.24; p < 0.001).

Occupational context significantly influences bus drivers' eating behaviour, which provides a basis for targeted health-promoting interventions. Hence, the specific needs of various driver groups and the direction of further research are discussed.