Prevalence of night eating syndrome among inbound call centre employees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Background: Night eating syndrome (NES) is described as a disordered eating pattern relative to sleep, where consumption of food occurs in the evening and night. Numerous studies had been conducted in various populations but studies on (NES) among call centre employees are limited. Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of NES and its determinants among selected inbound call centre employees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 217 inbound call centre employees were recruited through random sampling. A self-administered socio-demographic and work-related questionnaire was used to collect data on the background of the respondents. Information on NES and well-being was obtained by using the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) and World Health Organisation-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) respectively. Data on dietary intakes, smoking habits, alcohol intakes and life stress were acquired using a Simple Lifestyle Indicator Questionnaire (SLIQ) while eating behaviour of the respondents was studied using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-18). Results: The mean age of the respondents was 24.1 ± 6.0 years. The prevalence of NES was 12.0% (95% CI = 8.12-17.24). The binary logistic regression identified that NES is significantly associated with adequate exercise (AOR = 4.250, p = 0.012) and emotional eating (AOR = 6.510, p = 0.014). Conclusion: This study showed that the prevalence of NES was high in the call centre and repeated nocturnal eating can have multiple adverse health effects. Therefore, promoting healthy eating habits are crucial to reduce the impacts of NES.