Work Characteristics, Body Mass Index, and Risk of Obesity: The National Quality of Work Life Survey

Details

• Personal Author:
  Govindarajulu U ; Joseph MA ; Landsbergis P ; Myers S
• Description:
  Objectives: To examine work characteristics in relation to body mass index (BMI) and risk of obesity. Methods: We analyzed data from 1150 participants working 20+ h week-1 from the 2014 National NIOSH Quality of Work Life Survey, based on a representative sample of US workers. We used multiple linear regression for BMI and multiple logistic regression for obesity to estimate associations with 19 different work characteristics plus one set of occupational categories controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, job physical exertion, and television watching. Results: We found significant positive linear associations between BMI and night shift (versus day shift) schedule (B = 2.28, P = 0.008) and blue-collar (versus management/professional) work (B = 1.75, P = 0.008). Night shift schedule [odds ratio (OR) = 2.19, P = 0.029], sales/office work (OR = 1.55, P = 0.040), and blue-collar work (OR = 2.63, P = 0.006) were associated with increased risk of obesity versus 'healthy weight'. No other statistically significant associations between work characteristics and BMI or obesity were observed. Conclusions: Night shift schedule and blue-collar work were related to increased BMI and obesity risk in US workers in 2014. Identifying risk factors in blue-collar work and redesigning jobs to reduce those risk factors, and reducing night shift work, could play a role in reducing the prevalence of obesity in the USA. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Body Weight Demography Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Shift Work Schedule Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: BMI BMI Body Mass Index Body Measurements Body Weight Demographic Characteristics Health Surveys Job Design Obesity Occupations Office Workers Physical Capacity Professional Workers Quality Of Work Life Quality Of Work Life Survey QWL Regression Analysis Risk Factors Shift Work Shift Workers Work Analysis Work Characteristics Worker Health

  More +
• ISSN:
  2398-7308
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  291-306
• Volume:
  65
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061374
• Citation:
  Ann Work Expo Health 2021 Apr; 65(3):291-306
• Contact Point Address:
  Stephanie Myers, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA
• Email:
  stephanie.myers@downstate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Work Exposures and Health
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:856844d720ecb486ef0644837830feb300e57163c2943da8049fedc37f7d47f4919fddc9ff3f14d57889bbba0fb16bd6d96b91bd4693c5838a519075511f2108
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224915/cdc_224915_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 591.72 KB ]