Oxenham, A.F. orcid.org/0009-0002-8311-2245, Braune, T., van Sluijs, E. et al. (3 more authors) (2025) New job, new habits? A multilevel interrupted time series analysis of changes in diet, physical activity and sleep among young adults starting work for the first time. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 22. 10.
Abstract
Background The workplace is an important determinant of health that people are exposed to for the first-time during adolescence or early adulthood. This study investigates how diet, physical activity, and sleep change as people aged 16–30 years transition into work and whether this varies for different individuals and job types.
Methods Multilevel linear regression models assessed changes in fruit and vegetable intake, sleep duration, and physical activity among 3,302 UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) participants aged 16–30 years, who started work for the first time between 2015 and 2023. In line with interrupted time series analysis, models assessed behavioural trends in the period before starting work, the immediate effect of starting work, and changes in behaviour over time after employment. Stratified analyses examined differences by selected individual and job characteristics, adjusted for covariates. All analyses were conducted in R v.4.3.2.
Results Sleep duration was stable over the years before and after starting work, but starting work was associated with an immediate reduction in sleep duration (β=-9.74 [95% CI:-17.32 to -2.17 min/night). Physical activity, measured in Metabolic Equivalent Tasks (METs), increased immediately after starting work (β = 113.3, [95% CI: 80.49 to 146.11] MET-min/day), but subsequently decreased over time after starting work (β= -26.7, [95% CI: -40.75 to -12.66] MET-min/day/year). The increase in physical activity was greater among males, among those with no degree and among those starting lower socioeconomic classification jobs. Starting a “work from home” job had an immediate negative effect on physical activity (β= -126.42 [95% CI: -264.45 to 11.61] MET-min/day), whereas those who worked at their employer’s premises showed an initial increase (β = 128.81 [95% CI: 89.46 to 168.16] MET-min/day). Starting work had little influence on fruit and vegetable consumption.
Conclusions This is the first study to examine how diet, physical activity, and sleep in young adults change as they start employment in the UK. Starting work is associated with decreased sleep time and increased physical activity, with differences based on sociodemographic and job characteristics. Future research should consider these potential influences of the work environment when developing interventions to promote healthy behaviour in the workplace.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Early adulthood; Employment; Life transitions |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Health Sciences School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 04 Feb 2025 15:12 |
Last Modified: | 04 Feb 2025 15:12 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-024-01682-8 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1186/s12966-024-01682-8 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:222811 |