Relative weight and disability retirement: a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Relative weight and disability retirement: a prospective cohort study by Roos E, Laaksonen M, Rahkonen O, Lahelma E, Lallukka T Severely obese and obese employees have a clearly elevated risk for disability retirement, especially for musculoskeletal causes. The adverse effects of obesity on work ability are partly dependent on co-morbidities and ensuing lowered physical functioning. Promoting the maintenance of normal weight among employees is important as well as the effective treatment of obesity and its co-morbidities. Affiliation 259Original article Scand J Work Environ Health. 2013;39(3):259-267. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3328 Relative weight and disability retirement: a prospective cohort study Objectives The aims of this study were to examine (i) the association of relative weight with subsequent disability retirement due to any diagnosis and also in two major diagnostic groups (ie, musculoskeletal diseases and mental disorders) and (ii) whether diagnosed diseases, physical and mental functioning, and working conditions explain these associations. MethodsThis prospective study comprised a cohort of 6542 middle-aged employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland. Questionnaire data were linked with register data on disability retirements, with a mean follow-up time of 7.8 years.Results Adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI) was associated with all-cause disability retirement among men and women, the highest risk being for the severely obese and the obese [hazard ratio (HR) 3.45, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.53-4.69; HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.52-2.46, respectively]. Adjusting for age, relative weight was also strongly associated with the main retirement diagnoses, especially musculoskeletal diseases among the severely obese (HR 4.76,) and obese (HR 2.35, 95% CI 1.62-3.39). The association was attenuated when adjusting for self-reported diseases and physical and mental functioning at baseline. Working conditions had negligible effects on the associations. ConclusionsMaintenance of normal weight is likely to reduce the risk of disability retirement. Among obese employees, the focus should be on the improvement of physical functioning and the effective treatment of obesity and its co-morbidities to counteract the heightened risk of disability retirement.

Children Family Food Choice Motives among Parents of Healthy Weight and Overweight School- Aged: a Mixed Method Study

“…Parents who reported the above motives as most important had children with higher intake of healthy foods and lower intake of unhealthy foods. In contrast, the food choice motive, convenience, was positively associated with a higher intake of unhealthy foods, suggesting that parents would choose these types of foods because they require little or no preparation [5]. Similarly, another study among 1,095 children ages 12-13 years and their parents showed that sensory appeal was the most important food choice motive, followed by food's health value, convenience in preparation, natural content of foods and foods that helped with weight control.…”

“…Nine factors emerged, and were categorized into health, mood, convenience, sensory appeal, natural content, price, weight control, familiarity and ethical concern [9]. Since the original questionnaire by Steptoe, et al was developed to measure the personal motives that underlie food choices of adults, it was modified by Roo, et al to assess motives of foods chosen for the family [5]. The current study used the modified Food Choice Motive questionnaire with seven subscales (food's health value, food's natural content, foods for mood, sensory appeal, price and convenience, foods for weight control, and familiarity of the food).…”

“…The current study used the modified Food Choice Motive questionnaire with seven subscales (food's health value, food's natural content, foods for mood, sensory appeal, price and convenience, foods for weight control, and familiarity of the food). A 7-point Likert scale was used to score the responses of the participants, with 1 for "strongly disagree" to 7 for "strongly agree" [5]. We further categorized the responses into the following three categories: 1) "totally/mostly/somewhat disagree"; 2"neither agree nor disagree"; and 3) "totally/most/ somewhat agree".…”

“…Multiple factors contribute to children's eating behaviors and consequently the development or prevention of obesity [3,4].Parent's food choice motives are important to examine since parents are seen as the nutritional gatekeeper and the key moderator that influences the provision of healthy foods to their children in the home [5][6][7]. In a study among 563 parents and children, participants ranked food's health value, food's natural content, and food's sensory appeal the highest among food choice motives [5]. Parents who reported the above motives as most important had children with higher intake of healthy foods and lower intake of unhealthy foods.…”

Obesity: A United States Strategic Imperative

“…While not a direct military study, within civilian populations it was shown by Roos et al that overweight males had a musculoskeletal related disability retirement rate 5.6 times more than normal weight males. 55 Females had a rate 11 times higher for musculoskeletal disorders and 2.7 times higher for mental health disorders. 56 All cause disability retirement rates were increased by 1.…”