Translating a Weight Management Program to Worksites

Details

• Personal Author:
  Davis M ; DeJoy D ; Vandenberg R ; Wilson MG
• Description:
  The overall goal of this project was to evaluate the implementation of a worksite weight management program adapted from the Diabetes Prevention Program. The Diabetes Prevention Program was a multicenter clinical trial that found that modest weight loss achieved through dietary changes and increased physical activity levels in a high-risk pre-diabetic population reduced the likelihood of developing diabetes. Implementation research is an important step in the translation of research to practice because it examines how a set of intervention strategies can be used to integrate an evidence-based intervention within a specific setting, without the tightly controlled research infrastructure frequently associated with efficacy and effectiveness trials. The purpose of this study was to adapt and translate the Diabetes Prevention Program for broad-scale implementation in a workplace environment. The translated program needed to be relatively easy to implement, cost-effective, and minimally disruptive of normal site operations. To meet these constraints the translated program, FUEL Your Life, was much less intensive than the original DPP intervention. Frequent one-on-one treatment was replaced by a primarily self-study program supported by onsite occupational health nurses and peer health coaches. The FUEL Your Life intervention was organized around sixteen lessons presented in a self-study participant manual. Occupational health nurses, peer health coaches, posters at the worksite, and a website for the family provided support for the program. The 6-month intervention period was followed by a 6-month maintenance phase. The FUEL Your Life intervention was tested in the employee population at Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) maintenance facilities. This population has very high levels of overweight and obesity. Overall, participants receiving the intervention maintained their body weight and body mass index while participants in control sites had a 2.6-pound weight gain and increased their body mass index by 0.3. The majority of participants (55%) at the intervention sites lost weight and 11% of participants lost at least 5% of their body weight. Losses as little as 2% of body weight were associated with reduced risk of diabetes in the original DPP clinical trials. Participants receiving the intervention reported decreased consumption of sweetened beverages and less time sitting. There were increases in coworker support for weight management, healthy eating, and physical activity at the treatment sites. There was an increase in readiness to eat a healthful diet among treatment site participants. The FUEL Your Life program was well received by participants with the majority of participants rating the program as 'Very Good' or 'Excellent.' As compared to the original DPP, FUEL Your Life was a very low intensity weight loss intervention that resulted in small changes to eating and physical activity behaviors that led to weight maintenance. Increasing intensity of the intervention will likely be required for greater weight loss; however, increased intensity would likely result in increased costs and disruption to work activities. Further research is needed to determine the level of intensity required to achieve meaningful weight loss while balancing time and cost. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Body Weight Diet Health Promotion Hematologic Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Blood Sugar Disorders BMI Body Mass Index Body Weight Dietary Effects Disease Prevention Health Promotion Intervention Effectiveness Obesity Physical Exercise Worker Health

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• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-32
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058961
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2022-100301
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R18-OH-009396, 2011 Oct; :1-32
• Contact Point Address:
  Mark G. Wilson, Professor, The University of Georgia, Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health, 307 Ramsey Center, Athens, Georgia 30602
• Email:
  mwilson@uga.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities
• Performing Organization:
  University of Georgia
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20070930
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20110929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4fa5b4ebed42d131fa38dcf027acdbc6d89cefc1490ede8f6d4048871a478c4083d274fd6834207e629016449ea7d78d9855168ca9e94a5fc593c2c0bf9e7e14
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218961/cdc_218961_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.49 MB ]