Introduction Shift work has been linked to increased consumption of empty calorie food/beverages. However, the majority of studies investigating associations between shift work and empty calorie food/beverage consumption has been focusing on the impacts of shift timing. Little is known about how other domains of shift work contribute to empty calorie food/beverage consumption.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine associations between shift work and empty calorie food/beverage consumption, focusing on other domains of shift work and their interactions.

Methods This was a 14-day intensive longitudinal study with ecological momentary assessment. A convenience sample of 80 Taiwanese hospital registered nurses were recruited. During the study period, employing a 21-item food checklist, participants were prompted four times daily to report their empty calorie food/beverage consumption on a smartphone. Three domains of shift work: shift timing, intensity, and speed were derived from the registry-based work schedules. Three-level mixed-effects regression models were used to test hypotheses.

Results A total of 2,444 momentary observations from 77 participants were included in the final analysis. Findings suggested that high night shift intensity was associated with an increased likelihood of sugar-sweetened beverage intake (AOR=1.64, 95% CI [1.01, 2.68]). Shift speed moderated associations between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and work shift intensity or shift timing. However, associations between night shift intensity and empty calorie food/beverage consumption did not vary by shift speed.

Conclusions This study suggested how shift assignments might contribute to workers’ empty calorie food/beverage consumption. Therefore, it would be beneficial to rotating shift workers’ eating behaviors and overall health if the identified hazardous shift schedule can be avoided.