The work health-related behaviours and economic costs of overweight and obese corporate and industrial employees: a South African study
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Date
2017
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University of Zululand
Abstract
The work health-related behaviours and economic costs of overweight and obese corporate and industrial employees: a South African study. The trend of increasing prevalence of obesity is not only a public health concern, but employers have noticed rising rates of obesity among their employees in the workplace. Excess body weight has been associated with the development of comorbidities, which may in turn negatively affect quality of life, thus decreasing productivity in the workplace and creating an economic burden. The purpose of this study was to assess the work health-related profile of overweight and obese employees, to establish the cost implication of these employees in South African industrial and corporate companies, and to develop a health promotion model to address the condition of being overweight or obese in the workplace.
The study collected data from various corporate and industrial companies. Data was obtained through two methods: 1) employees’ medical data from a medical database (part A), and 2) questionnaires completed by employees (part B). For both parts A and B, the age ranged from 18-64 years (40.8 ± 11.0) and no differentiation was made between race groups. Part A consisted of 17 359 employees, whilst 117 employees comprised part B. Employees from both parts A and B were categorized according to BMI – normal weight (18.5‒24.9 kg/m2), overweight (25.0‒29.9 kg/m2), and obese (≥ 30 kg/m2). Employees from part A were further categorized according to obese classes – obese class I (30.0-34.9 kg/m2), obese class II (35.0-39.9 kg/m2), and obese class III (≥ 40 kg/m2). Data collected for part A included BMI, blood glucose, blood cholesterol, and blood pressure; whereas employees from part B completed the following: 1) WHO health at work survey, 2) WHO quality of life questionnaire, 3) international physical activity questionnaire, and 4) dietary record. SPSS Statistics 24 was used to determine frequencies, associations and correlations; a 95% level of confidence (p<0.05) was applied. A non-parametric chi-square test was used to determine significant associations between variables and each BMI category, while the Mann-Whitney test determined significant differences between groups. Prevalence rates of overweight and obese men were 46.4% and 24.4%, respectively, while prevalence rates for overweight and obese women were 26.7% and 18.3%, respectively. Prevalence of comorbidities were observed to increase with increasing BMI, and the measured comorbidities were significantly associated with BMI. Normal weight females performed significantly more moderate intensity exercise compared to overweight and obese females. Significant associations for increased number of snacks, as well as sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) were observed with overweight and obese males, as well as overweight females. A significant association between self-rated quality of life and self-rated health for each BMI category was observed. Furthermore, a significant association was observed between social relationships and overweight employees, while psychological health and social relationships were significant for obese employees. In all domains of quality of life (QOL), normal weight employees had higher mean scores for the various QOL domains, compared to overweight and obese employees. The prevalence of presenteeism increased with increasing BMI, with presenteeism being significantly associated with both overweight and obese employees. The prevalence of absenteeism increased with increasing BMI, though no significance was observed between groups. Overweight employees cost their respective companies in the range of R30 000 to R50 000 for the period of one year, and obese employees incurred a cost in the range of approximately R340 000 to R450 000. Together, overweight and obese employees incurred a cost of nearly half a million rand annually. These costs are calculated specifically for the study cohort, and would be substantially greater when calculated for the entire working population of South Africa. Results indicated that overweight and obese employees had increased prevalence of comorbidities, poorer quality of life, and increased presenteeism and absenteeism. It is recommended that companies implemement health and wellness programs with a multi-faceted approach to address obesity in the workplace.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Faculty Of Science and Agriculture in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy in the Department Of Biokinetics and Sport Science at the University Of Zululand, 2017
Keywords
obesity --employees --sedentary --physical activity --dietary habits --comorbidities --quality of life --absenteeism --presenteeism --economic burden