Objective To investigate and analyze the dietary intake and nutrition level of workers exposed to heat stress in a steel plant in Tangshan.
Methods A total of 226 workers with occupational heat exposure were selected from a steel plant in Tangshan by cluster random sampling method, and were classified into grade Ⅲ and grade Ⅳ heat stress groups according to the detection results of workplace temperature. The general information, physical examination data, surveyed dietary information, nutritional levels were collected or estimated.
Results The workers with normal weight, overweight, obesity, and marasmus accounted for 52.2%, 29.6%, 15.9%, and 2.2% of the total surveyed workers, respectively. The daily intake of the steel workers was dominated by grain which accounted for 32.8% of the total intake. Vegetables, fruits, meat, beans and nuts, eggs, oil, milk and dairy products, aquatic products, and salt accounted for 26.1%, 18.1%, 8.3%, 5.3%, 4.0%, 2.3%, 1.8%, 1.0%, and 0.3% of the total food intake, respectively. The intakes of water, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and selenium were lower than the recommended intakes for workers with occupational heat exposure (Ps < 0.05), accounting for 32.5%-49.4%, 56.7%-78.5%, 52.2%-70.6%, 51.0%, 76.6%-89.1%, 64.6%, and 95.9% of corresponding recommended intakes. The water intake of grade Ⅳ heat stress workers was higher than that of grade Ⅲ heat stress workers (P < 0.05). The deficiency rates of ascorbic acid, potassium, sodium, vitamin A, zinc, riboflavin, iron, and calcium of the workers were 95.6%, 57.1%, 42.0%, 41.1%, 38.5%, 31.9%, 31.0%, and 26.1%, respectively. The deficiency rates of riboflavin, potassium, sodium, calcium, iron, and zinc in the grade Ⅳ heat stress workers were higher than those of the grade Ⅲ heat stress workers (Ps < 0.05).
Conclusion Water, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and selenium intakes are deficient in the steel workers with occupational heat exposure. Specifically, 95.6% of the workers lack ascorbic acid and more than 40% of the workers lack vitamin A, potassium, and sodium. It is necessary to improve dietary structure of heat stress exposed workers by proper nutrition guidance and provide liquid supplement during work according to heat stress work classification.
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