Measures of Physical Activity and Body Mass Index in Hospital Workers: A Multisite Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

This study examined physical activity (PA) profiles of hospital employees and evaluated associations between PA domains (occupation, commute, leisure, and domestic) and intensity levels (light, moderate, and vigorous) with body mass index (BMI). Nine hundred twenty employees across six Texas hospitals were enrolled in the multisite study, 2012 to 2013. Analysis of covariance tests assessed equality of means (minutes) across PA measures, and mixed effects analyses evaluated associations between PA measures and BMI, while controlling for covariates. Over 78% of participants were overweight or obese. Mixed effects models showed significant inverse associations with BMI: light leisure PA (β = -0.0183|P = 0.003), moderate leisure PA (β = -0.0182|P = 0.005), vigorous leisure PA (β = -0.0248|P = 0.000), moderate commute PA (β = -0.0315|P = 0.02), moderate domestic PA (β = -0.0087|P = 0.018), and vigorous occupation PA (β = -0.0158|P = 0.001). Delivery of effective interventions in this population must consider the nature of the work environment as well as employees' PA profiles.