Publication:

A study on caffeine consumption and its association with stress and appetite among call centre employees in Mumbai city, India

Background Caffeine is a widely consumed chemical having controversial effects. Caffeine may interact with the satiety and may be associated with stress levels. The frequency of caffeine consumption among call centre employees is known to be high. The aim of the study was to assess the caffeine intake, and it's association with appetite and stress levels among call centre employees aged between 25-35 yearsMethods: A cross sectional study with purposive sampling was done from a call centre at Mumbai, India. Anthropometric measurements and structured questionnaires were used for data collection.

Results The average caffeine intake was 200mg/day through coffee and 150mg/day through tea among the habitual consumers. As per the scoring categories of adapted appetite questionnaire (CNAQ), 54.7% of the participants were at risk to abnormally low appetite. The stress questionnaire results showed that 84.6% of the participants were at high risk to stress. Significant negative association was found between appetite score and coffee consumption (r=0.55,p<0.001), coffee consumption plus smoking (r=0.476,p<0.05) and tea consumption (r=0.300, p<0.05) respectively. A significant difference (p<0.01) was observed between the mean appetite score of habitual smokers and non-smokers; mean appetite score of non-smokers was greater. No significant association was observed between caffeine consumption and stress.

Conclusions Caffeine had a negative impact on the appetite levels. Smoking was observed to worsen the effect of caffeine on appetite.