Body Mass Index Change after One Year from a Health Examination and its Relation to Attitudes toward Lifestyle Change in Japanese Male Workers

Abstract

In Japan, members of the workforce undergo a general health examination (GHE) in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) law and related regulations. Because of a marked increase in the number of workers with health risk factors related to lifestyle, the focus of the GHE is gradually shifting to prevention of lifestyle-related diseases. Under the 1996 amendments to the OSH law and regulations, an employer is required to obtain a physician’s opinion regarding the GHE results, act to improve occupational health standards on the basis of GHE results, to provide an occupational health nurse and health care support related to GHE results, and to report GHE results to all workers individually. The sooner these measures are implemented after the examination, the more effectively worker health is promoted. Self-care is the most important healthpromoting behavior because of its simplicity, immediacy and effectiveness. The practical benefits of the GHE depend upon how well the results are acted upon. The occupational health system in Japan requires employers to make practical use of the GHE results. In a previous study, we found a relation in workers between negative attitudes toward the reports on GHE results and the need for medical treatment. But it is unclear whether workers’ attitudes toward the GHE results are associated with their ongoing health status. In the present study, we investigated whether attitudes toward the GHE report influenced the examination results one year later and also investigated workers’ self-reported lifestyle changes in response to the report. For the purpose of this study, we chose to focus on body mass index (BMI) because several reports indicate that obesity is one of the most important occupational health problems in Japan. In this study, blood pressure (BP) was also analyzed.