Participation in Worksite Health Promotion Programs and Weight Loss in Obese Workers: Results from the Live for Life Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brouwer RJN ; Ostbye T ; Stroo M
• Description:
  Background: Workplace weight management programs can result in at least short-term, modest weight loss. However, little is known about how employee weight loss is impacted by level of engagement in these programs, and the impact of concurrent participation in other health promotion programs. Methods: The study evaluated two worksite weight management (WM) programs (WM: educational program versus WM+: behavioral program), in a population (n=550) of obese (BMI >=30) employees, using a randomized controlled design. We explored the association of intervention engagement as well as concurrent participation in 1) other free weight-related programs within the worksite (e.g., stairway walking programs), 2) paid offerings within the worksite (e.g., diet and fitness center membership), and 3) paid external offerings (e.g., Weight Watchers) on weight change overall and by study arm. Participation in the weight management programs was categorized into 4 levels (No participation to full participation). Participation in paid worksite programs and in external programs, were categorized into 3 levels (None, 1 program, or 2+). Free programs within the worksite were categorized into 3 levels (None, 1-3 programs, 4+). Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to assess the association of participation on percentage of weight change. Results: Participants with the highest levels of participation in either study arm lost more weight than those with lowest (-0.12 vs. -2.75 lbs.). High participation in the free worksite programs was significantly related to weight reduction (b=-1.33, SE=0.46, p=0.004). In testing for arm differences, greater participation in paid external programs was associated with a significant increase in weight loss in the WM arm (b=-1.65, SE=0.78, p=0.04), while participation in free programs was associated with increased weight loss in the WM+ arm (b=-2.45, SE=0.67, p=<0.001). Conclusions: Acknowledging that these associations may be partly explained by unmeasured confounders, the results suggest that while worksite weight management programs show some positive effects, employers should also encourage employees to take full advantage of a variety of other worksite programs for even greater results. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Body Weight Men Occupational Health Safety Women Workplace
• Keywords:
  Age Groups BMI Body Mass Index Body Weight Employee Health Employees Humans Obesity Physical Fitness Statistical Analysis Weight Factors Work Environment Workers

  More +
• Publisher:
  Obesity Society
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050331
• Citation:
  Obesity Week, The Annual Meeting of The Obesity Society, November 2-7, 2014, Boston, Massachusetts. Silver Spring, MD., Obesity Society, 2014 Nov; :T-2641-P
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20100601
• Source Full Name:
  Obesity Week, The Annual Meeting of The Obesity Society, November 2-7, 2014, Boston, Massachusetts
• End Date:
  20150531
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:168d659ba4dc41454a93296d612aebaf78de6195ad8e939d85bc50e0062df6b5c5ddda6436ae6c6859a8da56b22370c7f29e6dc14a8d90b9e1f311c1c04a5abb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210721/cdc_210721_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 14.08 KB ]