Introduction and aim. Shift work is one of the key elements determining the development of attitudes towards nutrition. The aim of the study was an attempt to assess the influence of nurses’ shift work on their dietary habits. Material and methods. A total of 126 nurses (women: 100% of all) employed in teaching hospitals in Warsaw: group A (87 nurses working in a two-shift system: 12 hours), group B (39 nurses working in a single-shift system: 7.35 hours). The mean age among group A was 36.2 years and among group B it was 37.1 years. The minimum age amounted to 22 years, and the maximum age was 56 years. A voluntary and anonymous questionnaire study. An original questionnaire and a method for assessing a periodic diet developed by Starzyńska. The original questionnaire comprised 11 closed-ended questions, 11 open-ended questions, and 7 semi-open-ended questions. Statistical analysis: Statsoft STATISTICA 12.5, non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test, α < 0.05. Results. A detailed analysis of diets of the study group of nurses demonstrated that their everyday diet contained a series of nutrition errors. An increase in regularity of meals would considerably improve the dietary habits of nurses. Conclusions. Diets of nurses from both groups contained a number of nutrition errors and the level of diets can be described as sufficient. The study showed a significant correlation between shift work and regularity and variety of meals. Nurses working in a single-shift system (group B) ate more regularly compared to nurses from group A (a two-shift system).

Key words: nutrition, shift work, nurses.