Strickland Jaime R, Pizzorno Galen, Kinghorn Anna M, Evanoff Bradley A
Division of General Medical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Box 8005, St. Louis, MO 63110. Email:
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2015 May 7;12:E66. doi: 10.5888/pcd12.140406.
More than one-third of US adults are obese. Workplace programs to reduce obesity and improve overall health are not available or accessible to all workers, particularly low-wage workers among whom obesity is more prevalent. The goal of the study was to identify modifiable workplace factors and behaviors associated with diet and exercise to inform future workplace interventions to improve health.
We distributed paper and online surveys to 2 groups of low-wage workers, hospital workers and retail sales workers, at the worksites. The surveys assessed obesity, obesogenic behaviors, workplace factors, and worker participation in workplace health programs (WHPs). Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to examine workplace factors associated with obesogenic behaviors.
A total of 529 surveys were completed (219 hospital workers and 310 retail workers). More than 40% of workers were obese and 27% were overweight. In general, workers had poor diets (frequent consumption of sugary and high-fat foods) and engaged in little physical activity (only 30.9% met recommended physical activity guidelines). Access to and participation in workplace health programs varied greatly between hospital and retail sales workers. We identified several modifiable workplace factors, such as food source and work schedule, that were associated with diet, exercise, or participation in workplace health programs.
This study illustrates the high prevalence of obesity and obesogenic behaviors workers in 2 low-wage groups. The differences between work groups indicated that each group had unique facilitators and barriers to healthy eating and exercise. An understanding of how socioeconomic, demographic, and work-related factors influence health will help to identify high-risk populations for intervention and to design interventions tailored and relevant to the target audiences.
超过三分之一的美国成年人患有肥胖症。并非所有工人都能获得或参与工作场所旨在减少肥胖和改善整体健康的项目，尤其是肥胖更为普遍的低薪工人。本研究的目的是确定与饮食和运动相关的可改变的工作场所因素及行为，为未来改善健康的工作场所干预措施提供依据。
我们在工作场所向两组低薪工人（医院工作人员和零售店员）发放了纸质和在线调查问卷。这些调查评估了肥胖状况、致胖行为、工作场所因素以及工人参与工作场所健康项目（WHP）的情况。进行了描述性和回归分析，以研究与致胖行为相关的工作场所因素。
共完成了529份调查问卷（219名医院工作人员和310名零售店员）。超过40%的工人患有肥胖症，27%的工人超重。总体而言，工人们饮食不健康（经常食用含糖和高脂肪食物），且几乎不进行体育活动（只有30.9%的人达到了建议的体育活动指导标准）。医院工作人员和零售店员在获得和参与工作场所健康项目方面存在很大差异。我们确定了几个可改变的工作场所因素，如食物来源和工作时间表，这些因素与饮食、运动或参与工作场所健康项目有关。
本研究表明肥胖症和致胖行为在两个低薪群体的工人中普遍存在。工作组之间的差异表明，每个群体在健康饮食和运动方面都有独特的促进因素和障碍。了解社会经济、人口统计学和与工作相关的因素如何影响健康，将有助于确定需要干预的高危人群，并设计适合目标受众且与之相关的干预措施。
