Understanding Chrononutrition for Managing Shift Workers' Health: A Narrative Review and Future Directions

Shift workers have temporal eating patterns characterised by irregular food intake and prolonged periods of eating with more energy intake occurring in night-time hours during night shifts. These patterns of eating against a backdrop of shift work exacerbate circadian misalignment, which impairs cardiometabolic profiles and increases the risk of developing overweight and obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Limiting food intake at night and being mindful about food choices is beneficial on night shifts, but further research is required to determine appropriate timing and composition of food intake. Some food intake at night may be necessary in supporting individual alertness and performance at work and should be considered when recommending that shift workers minimise food intake at night. At the individual level, shift workers may benefit from minimising night-time food intake during night shifts. At the organisational level, healthy food consumption habits should be encouraged by improving access to healthy food at night, implementing scheduled meal breaks and providing information about healthy eating guidelines to employees. Medical professionals and Accredited Practising Dietitians (APD) should be aware of the impact of circadian misalignment on metabolic health and consider this when educating patients on adhering to healthy eating guidelines.