The Results of a 2-Year Randomized Trial of a Worksite Weight Management Intervention

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.