Promising Practices for the Prevention and Control of Obesity in the Worksite

Abstract

Purpose. To identify worksite practices that show promise for promoting employee weight loss. Data Source. The following electronic databases were searched from January 1, 1966, through December 31, 2005: CARL Uncover (via Ingenta), CDP, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Library, CRISP, Dissertation Abstracts, EMBASE, ERIC, Health Canada, INFORM (part of ABI/INFORM Proquest), LocatorPlus, New York Academy of Medicine, Ovid MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, PapersFirst, PsycINFO, PubMed, and TRIP.Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria. Included studies were published in English, conducted at a worksite, designed for adults (aged §18 years), and reported weight-related outcomes.Data Extraction. Data were extracted using an online abstraction form. Data Synthesis. Studies were evaluated on the basis of study design suitability quality of execution, sample size, and effect size. Changes in weight-related outcomes were used to assess effectiveness.Results. The following six promising practices were identified: enhanced access to opportunities for physical activity combined with health education, exercise prescriptions alone, multicomponent educational practices, weight loss competitions and incentives, behavioral practices with incentives, and behavioral practices without incentives.Conclusions. These practices will help employers and employees select programs that show promise for controlling and preventing obesity. (Am J Health Promot 2011;25[3]:e12-e26.)

Disparities in Health Behaviors and Chronic Conditions in Health Care Providers in the Veterans Health Administration

“…Our results reflect those from a recent national sample of smoking in health care providers. 22 The smoking prevalence of LPNs (28.9%) in VHA is higher than the rate of 20.6% reported by Sarna et al, 23 due to the inclusion of nursing assistants in the occupation group with LPNs, together representing 9% of the VHA workforce. Disparities and class issues may be greatest for nursing assistants, since they have the fewest years of formal education and the lowest incomes in the nursing profession.…”

The effectiveness of workplace health promotion interventions on physical and mental health outcomes – a systematic review of reviews

“…There is evidence of a modest reduction in weight as a result of worksite health promotion programs aimed at improving nutrition, physical activity, or both. Archer et al, 2011 (29) N=136 (various study designs)…”

“…Some reviews recommended specific intervention types to the prevention of weight gain. Archer et al (29), for example, identified six promising practices with sufficient evidence for beneficial effects, including enhanced access to opportunities for physical activity in combination with health education, exercise prescriptions, multicomponent educational practices, weight loss competitions and incentives, and behavioral practices both with and without incentives.…”

Nutri One-on-One: The Assessment and Evaluation of a Brief One-on-One Nutritional Coaching in Patients Affected by Metabolic Syndrome

“…This is exemplified by the Ma et al study where 7% of the initial target weight loss goal was achieved by 37% of the one-on-one coach-led intervention participants compared to only 14.4% of the self-led participants [4]. In addition, many studies from USA, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, UK, Germany, and Australia evaluate the continual promising effects of one-on-one intervention on health behavior and the effective elements of brief intervention overall [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].…”