Prevalence of Obesity by Occupation Among US Workers

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This article provides data on the prevalence of obesity by occupation.  This data can be used to compare your own organization with national trend data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity status for various occupations.  The paper’s objective is to estimate the prevalence of obesity and the change of prevalence of obesity between 2004−2007 and 2008−20011 by occupation among US workers. Self-reported weight and height were collected and used to assess obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m 2 ). Gender-, race/ethnicity-, and occupation-specific prevalence of obesity were calculated. Prevalence of obesity steadily increased from 2004 through 2008 across gender and race/ethnicity but leveled off from 2008 through 2011. Non-Hispanic black female workers in health care support (49.2%) and transportation/material moving (46.6%) had the highest prevalence of obesity. Prevalence of obesity in relatively low-obesity (white-collar) occupations significantly increased between 2004−2007 and 2008−2011, whereas it did not change significantly in high-obesity (blue-collar) occupations.  Published: 2014

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