An Evaluation of the Significance of Work-Related Influence Factors on Fitness and the Development of Medical and Orthopaedic Conditions in Military Executives

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Abstract

Occupational health promotion is an effective tool to improve the state of health of employees. As part of occupational health promotion in the German Bundeswehr, top-ranking military executives are offered a medical examination and training programme. Health-related data is collected as a basis for training and lifestyle counselling. This data was subjected to a retrospective evaluation in order to identify occupational risk factors and their correlation with cardiovascular resilience, trunk strength, and the development of orthopaedic and internal disorders. A total of 122 military executives (all male, age 54.6 ± 4.2 years) answered a questionnaire aimed at evaluating private and occupational stress factors. The medical history was followed by a medical and orthopaedic examination involving a lactate performance test (treadmill or bicycle ergometry) and an isometric trunk strength measurement. The data obtained was then statistically evaluated. For military executives, work-related travelling and commuting involve a high risk of medical and orthopaedic conditions. Regular exercise leads to improved fitness levels. In order to prevent medical problems, military executives working long hours should regularly take part in fitness and weight training under professional instructions.

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Occupation, hours worked, and leisure-time physical activity.

G Turrell, Joshua Burton (2000)

International research indicates that blue-collar employees typically exhibit lower rates of leisure-time physical activity. While "lack of time" and "work demands" are commonly reported barriers to activity, the extent to which time-at-work mediates the relationship between occupation and leisure-time physical activity is unclear. This study investigated the association between occupation, time spent in paid employment, and participation in leisure-time physical activity. This was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 1995 Australian Health Survey, focusing on employed persons ages 18-64 years (n = 24, 454). Occupation was coded as per the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations and collapsed into three categories (professional, white-collar, blue-collar). Hours worked was categorized into eight levels, ranging from 1-14 to more than 50 h per week. Participation in leisure-time physical activity was categorized as either insufficient or sufficient for health, consistent with recommended levels of energy expenditure (1600 METS-min/fortnight). The relationship between occupation, hours worked, and leisure-time physical activity was examined using logistic regression. Analyses were conducted separately for male and female, and the results are presented as a series of models that successively adjust for a range of potential covariates: age, living arrangement, smoking status, body mass index, and self-reported health. Individuals in blue-collar occupations were approximately 50% more likely to be classified as insufficiently active. This occupational variability in leisure-time physical activity was not explained by hours worked. There was a suggested relationship between hours worked and leisure-time physical activity; however, this differed between men and women, and was difficult to interpret. Occupational variability in leisure-time physical activity cannot be explained by hours worked. Therefore, reports that work constitutes a barrier to participation should be explored further. Identification of the factors contributing to occupational variability in leisure-time physical activity will add to our understanding of why population subgroups differ in their health risk profiles, and assist in the development of health promotion strategies to reduce rates of sedentariness and health inequalities. Copyright 2000 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.

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Health promotion in small business: a systematic review of factors influencing adoption and effectiveness of worksite wellness programs.

Cynthia Stinson, Kenneth Brimble, Liliana Tenney … (2014)

To assess the evidence regarding the adoption and efficacy of worksite health promotion programs (WHPPs) in small businesses. Peer-reviewed research articles were identified from a database search. Included articles were published before July 2013, described a study that used an experimental or quasiexperimental design and either assessed adoption of WHPPs or conducted interventions in businesses with fewer than 500 employees. A review team scored the study's rigor using the WHO-adapted GRADEprofiler "quality of evidence" criteria. Of the 84 retrieved articles, 19 met study inclusion criteria. Of these, only two met criteria for high rigor. Fewer small businesses adopt WHPPs compared with large businesses. Two high-rigor studies found that employees were healthier postintervention. Higher quality research is needed to better understand why small businesses rarely adopt wellness programs and to demonstrate the value of such programs.

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Specific associations between types of physical activity and components of mental health.

Greet Cardon, Katrien Wijndaele, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij … (2009)

Findings of previous studies suggest that the relationship between physical activity and mental health may change across different domains of physical activity, different dimensions of mental health, and different population subgroups. The present study examined associations between five types of physical activity with different contents: housework, leisure active transportation, biking to/from work, walking to/from work, and sports participation, and two dimensions of mental health: perceived stress and psychological distress, in 1919 participants aged 20-65 years, using the data from the Flemish Policy Research Centre Sport, Physical Activity and Health. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed with the total sample, and with the sample stratified by gender, age, and occupational category. Further, separate models were used in the gender and age subgroups of each occupational category. Sports participation was the only type of physical activity inversely associated with both stress (OR=0.375; CI: 0.200-0.704) and distress (OR=0.480; CI: 0.253-0.910). Sports participation related to less distress in unemployed mid-aged adults, and to less stress in unemployed women, unemployed young adults, and young adults with blue-collar jobs. Housework was associated with more stress and more distress in women with blue-collar jobs. In young adults with white-collar jobs, however, an inverse association between housework and distress was found. Biking to and from work was associated with more stress in men with blue-collar jobs. Results invite consideration for the utility, and perhaps the necessity, of differentiated health recommendations for physical health and for mental health in different population subgroups.

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Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): ScientificWorldJournal

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): ScientificWorldJournal

Journal ID (publisher-id): TSWJ

Title: The Scientific World Journal

Publisher: Hindawi Publishing Corporation

ISSN (Print): 2356-6140

ISSN (Electronic): 1537-744X

Publication date (Print): 2016

Publication date (Electronic): 27 September 2016

Volume: 2016

Electronic Location Identifier: 3929104

Affiliations

¹Department of Orthopaedics, University Medicine Rostock, Doberaner Str. 142, 18057 Rostock, Germany

²Bundeswehr Centre of Sports Medicine, Dr.-Rau-Allee 32, 48231 Warendorf, Germany

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*Christoph Schulze: christoph.schulze@ 123456med.uni-rostock.de

Academic Editor: Joav Merrick

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Christoph Schulze http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5715-9210

Article

DOI: 10.1155/2016/3929104

PMC ID: 5059610

SO-VID: e536eaf6-01b9-4729-9885-3c1e775b49d8

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

An Evaluation of the Significance of Work-Related Influence Factors on Fitness and the Development of Medical and Orthopaedic Conditions in Military Executives

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Most cited references 23

Occupation, hours worked, and leisure-time physical activity.

Health promotion in small business: a systematic review of factors influencing adoption and effectiveness of worksite wellness programs.

Specific associations between types of physical activity and components of mental health.

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