Profile of Weight Gained after Employment in Sedentary Occupation

Abstract

There is a tendency for employees to gain weight after entering sedentary occupations. It is critical for organizations to understand the situations, which promote weight gain. PURPOSE: To compare demographic and organizational characteristics of those that gained weight and did not gain weight after employment in a telecommunication organization. METHODS: An anonymous ergonomic and exercise questionnaire was administered to 393 volunteers in a communication company, 71% female and mean age of 33.6±9.78 years. The survey included body part discomfort, fatigue, exercise and ergonomic assessments. The facility was in operation for 8 months before data collection. The discomfort scale was 0–5 with 0 = no discomfort to 5 = very uncomfortable. Fatigue was measured at the 8th shift hour on a similar scale of 0–5. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to establish the MET-minutes used per week. A principal components analysis combined multiple body part discomfort scores into one discomfort index. T- tests, F-tests and ANCO VA procedures were used to compare those that gained weight and did not gain weight as well as for the amount of weight gained for the following variables: Age, gender, body part discomfort index, fatigue after 8 hours, fitness club membership, previous employment type, days it took to become accustomed to the job, and total MET-minutes/week. RESULTS: 67% (n = 263) stated they gained weight since they were employed. The mean weight gain was 16.7±12.3 pounds. No significant differences were found for any of the variables between those reporting they did or did not gain weight. There was a significant difference in amount of weight gain between those that were not club members and those that were club members (15.2±11.2 vs. 18.6±13.5 lbs., p < .05), respectively. No other significant differences were found for any of the other variables in the amount of weight gained. CONCLUSIONS: Little differences were found between those that reported they gained weight and did not gain weight in this sedentary work environment. Those that joined the fitness club on the average reported the highest weight gain since they were employed.