220365 Obesity and Cardiovascular Fitness Levels in the US Workforce

Monday, November 8, 2010

John D. Clark III, PhD , Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL
John E. Lewis, PhD , Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL
William G. LeBlanc, PhD , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
Kristopher L. Arheart, EdD , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
David Lee, PhD , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
Alberto J. Caban-Martinez, MPH , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
Evelyn Davila, PhD , Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Florida International University, Miami, FL
Lora E. Fleming, MD, PhD , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - OHH Center and NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
Problem/Objective: The relationship between occupation, obesity, and cardiovascular fitness has not been fully investigated. The prevalence of obesity across worker subgroups varies significantly. The present study assesses differences in cardiovascular fitness levels as measured by estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) by occupational subgroups.

Methods: Our sample is comprised of employed individuals 20 years of age and older from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004. VO2 max from a diverse sample of US workers was used to categorize individuals as low, moderate, or high fitness using age- and sex-specific cutpoints. Obesity prevalence, mean percentage body fat, mean estimated VO2 max, and percentage of workers with low cardiovascular fitness levels were reported by gender for 40 occupational subgroups.

Results: Nearly 17% of US workers had low cardiovascular fitness (representing approximately 22.4 million). Results showed significant differences in the levels of obesity, percentage body fat, estimated VO2 max, and low cardiovascular fitness levels by occupational subgroups. “Miscellaneous food preparation and service workers” and “Sales, retail, and personal services workers” showed significantly lower cardiovascular fitness relative to all workers. “Executives, administrators, and managers” and “Health diagnosing, assessing, and treating occupations” were significantly less likely to be categorized as having low cardiovascular fitness.

Conclusions: Cardiovascular fitness levels vary significantly across occupational subgroups. Targeted workplace fitness programs are needed for at-risk worker groups.

Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safety

Learning Objectives:
Describe occupational differences in cardiovascular fitness levels Describe the use of the nationally representative dataset NHANES to asses the health of occupational groups

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to be an abstract Author on the content I am responsible for because I have been involved in the implementation and analysis of occupational research studies.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.