The results of a 2-year randomized trial of a worksite weight management intervention.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2014

Institution/Department

Maine Medical Center Research Institute; Center for Outcomes Research and Evalution

Journal Title

American journal of health promotion : AJHP

MeSH Headings

Body Mass Index, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Occupational Health, Overweight, Weight Loss, Weight Reduction Programs, Workplace

Abstract

PURPOSE: We assessed the effectiveness of a worksite management intervention (the 3W program) for overweight and obese hotel employees.

DESIGN: The program was tested in a 2-year cluster-randomized trial involving 30 hotels that employed nearly 12,000 individuals.

SETTING: All participating hotels were on Oahu, Hawaii. The intervention was implemented within hotel worksites.

SUBJECTS: Participants were included in the analysis if they had an initial body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25, were assessed at least twice, were not missing other data needed for the analysis, and did not switch to employment at a hotel in a different experimental condition. Of the 6519 employees we assessed, data from 1207 individuals (intervention: 598; control: 610) met these criteria and contributed to the analysis.

INTERVENTION: The intervention had two components: (1) group meetings and (2) a workplace environment intervention.

MEASURES: Weight and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were measured at three annual assessments.

ANALYSIS: The effect of the intervention on change in BMI and WHtR was estimated in hierarchical mixed regression models using full maximum likelihood to estimate model parameters.

RESULTS: The effects on change in BMI and WHtR were in the expected direction but were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: The 3W program was not effective. The low intensity of the intervention may have contributed to its ineffectiveness.

ISSN

2168-6602

First Page

336

Last Page

339

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