Overweight and obesity as predictors of absenteeism in the working population of the Netherlands

To determine the relation between body mass index (BMI) and absenteeism. Data were collected in a prospective cohort study (n = 1284). Multilevel analyses (linear mixed model with random intercept) with two levels (employee and company) were used to test whether BMI was related to duration and frequ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of occupational and environmental medicine Vol. 49; no. 9; p. 975
Main Authors Jans, Marielle P, van den Heuvel, Swenne G, Hildebrandt, Vincent H, Bongers, Paulien M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.2007
Subjects
Absenteeism
Adolescent
Adult
Body Mass Index
Cohort Studies
Data Collection - methods
Humans
Middle Aged
Netherlands - epidemiology
Obesity - epidemiology
Overweight - epidemiology
Prospective Studies
Sports - statistics & numerical data
Time Factors
Workplace
Netherlands
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Summary:To determine the relation between body mass index (BMI) and absenteeism. Data were collected in a prospective cohort study (n = 1284). Multilevel analyses (linear mixed model with random intercept) with two levels (employee and company) were used to test whether BMI was related to duration and frequency of absenteeism and whether this relation was influenced by sports participation. Obese employees were absent 14 days a year more than normal-weight employees. Also the frequency of absenteeism of more than 7 days was significantly higher. The differences in absenteeism between obese and normal-weight employees were larger for employees who did not practice sport regularly. Obese employees are more often absent and are absent longer, especially when they do not practice sport regularly. An active company policy to prevent obesity is needed, both from a health and a business efficiency perspective.
ISSN:1536-5948
DOI:10.1097/JOM.0b013e31814b2eb7