Obesity on the Job

Obesity is a phenomenon that is on the rise, especially in the workplace. The consequences are not only to the obese employee, but to the employer as well.  Having a job that requires you to be sedentary and having poor eat habits increase the risk of an individual being obese. 

Obesity puts people at risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gall bladder disease, and some cancers.  Obese workers also have a higher chance of metabolic, circulatory, musculoskeletal, and respiratory disorders. 

Obesity in the workplace can cost an organization financially.  For example, in Australia obese employees had more and longer work absences.  In the United States,  obesity was associated with 39 million lost work days, 239 million restricted-activity days, 90 million bed days and 63 million physician visits in 1994. 

In 2005, more than 2 million Canadian employees between the ages of 18 and 64 were obese.  The obesity rate continues to increase steadily especially among men.  Obesity is more common among older employees (age 55 to 64).  The prevalence is lower among women.  

The increasing obesity trend among workers is due to an environment that encourages excessive eating, discourages physical activity, and an increase in sedentary jobs.

When the relationship between income and obesity was investigated to find a relationship an interesting difference between men and women was found.  Men aged 35 to 54 who were in the bottom half of the personal income distribution were less likely to be obese than men who were in the top quarter of the personal income distribution.  However, women aged 18 to 54 with low personal income were more likely than high-income earners to be obese. These variations may be related to differing symbolic values of body size and shape for men and women.  

A recent study that was done found that dining out was more common among higher-income groups and this may be associated with the inverse relationship between income and being overweight among men. 

Low education increased the odds of obesity for both men and women, except for younger workers (age 18 to 34).  The odds were 1.6 times higher for workers aged 35 to 54 than they were for workers who completed post secondary education. 

Compared with married workers, never-married workers age 18 to 34 were less likely to be obese.  Never-married workers tend to put more value on their body image when they are young.  On the other hand, older never-married women had higher odds of being obese. 

A higher proportion of blue-collar workers were obese compared with men in white-collar jobs.  Higher obesity rates were found among men whose usual daily activities or work habits for the past three months were doing heavy work or carrying very heavy loads.  Men working longer hours were also more likely to be obese than regular full-time workers. 

No causal relationship between labour force characteristics and obesity can be concluded, but work stress caused by irregular work schedules like excessive hours or shift work may be related to obesity.  Non-standard work schedules may also make it more difficult for workers to engage in healthy eating and physical activity patterns.

Stress can contribute to obesity by having effects on behaviour and metabolism. 

In 2002, a higher proportion of obese workers reported having higher job strain.  High job strain comes from having high psychological demands and low job control.  This indicates that obesity may be a result of the biological and behavioural effects of stress. 

Research that has been conducted in the past found that the development of obesity may be directly related to biological effects of chronic stress, as a result the deposition of intra-abdominal fat occurs.  Obesity can also be the result of unhealthy coping mechanisms such as overeating, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol consumption. 

Workers with high levels of job strain and insufficient buffers against work stress are more likely to develop obesity.  High psychological workload and a lack of proper social support at work, may act as a causal factor for obesity.

Obese young men (18 to 34) are four times more likely to be absent that those with a normal weight, after controlling for socioeconomic and health-related confounding factors. 

Research has shown that obesity especially for women may have a negative impact on workers more often through presenteeism rather than absenteeism.

Poor health, as a result of obesity, is likely to affect a person’s ability to do work.  Excess weight can reduce productivity due to increased chances of injury on the job.  Injury and obesity have a relationship because of increased fatigue, sleepiness, physical limitations, and ergonomics among obese people.  

Read more here

References:  

Park, J.(2009). Obesity on the Job.  Perspectives.  Statistics Canada.  http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-001-x/75-001-x2009102-eng.htm

Posted by: suhujitha on 2009-03-11 14:15:20

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