Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology
A Combined Workplace Intervention Including Exercise and Nutrition for Health Promotion in Obese Office Workers: A Randomized Controlled Study
By Κωνσταντίνα Καρατράντου, Elisavet Efthymiou, Christos Batatolis and 4 others.
Abstract
Background
During the last decades, the office workplace setting has increasingly become an inherently “obesogenic” environment, promoting unhealthy behaviors. The main objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a 6-month workplace combined (exercise and nutrition) intervention in obese office workers, using a randomized controlled study. An additional objective of this study was to evaluate the individual responses per participant following the program.
Methods
In total, 36 obese office workers (BMI: ≥30) were randomly assigned to two equal groups: intervention (IG; age: 48.06 ± 6.60 yrs; BMI: 33.57 ± 1.58 kg/m2) and control (CG; age: 47.95 ± 5.95 yrs; BMI: 33.54 ± 1.74 kg/m2). The IG participated in a daily supervised 6-month workplace program (during working hours), including (a) exercise (flexibility, balance, strength, and aerobic) and (b) counseling and educational activities for healthy diet and hydration. The CG did not participate in any intervention. Before and after the 6-month period, the following were measured: (a) health indices (body fat, body circumferences, blood pressure, respiratory function, and lipidemic profile), (b) functional capacity indices (flexibility, balance, handgrip strength, and cardiovascular fitness), and (c) adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDietScore) and daily water consumption.