American Journal of Health Promotion

To assess organizational and employee participation during three community-wide worksite exercise competitions in two communities.

A one-group, posttest-only design was used. Lack of controls, exercise baseline, and the short-term nature of the interventions were limitations.

The Minnesota Heart Health Program conducted annual exercise campaigns between 1982 and 1989 within three intervention communities to reduce behavioral risk for cardiovascular disease. The Shape Up Challenge was a worksite exercise competition designed, in conjunction with other campaign activities, to increase levels of physical activity.

A total of 119 participating companies in two Minnesota communities, and 17,626 employees within these worksites, composed the subjects in this study.

Eligible worksites were invited to participate in a month-long competition during which employees recorded minutes spent daily in aerobic activities. Incentives were established to promote intragroup cooperation and intergroup competition. Companies competed for awards that were based on average minutes of exercise per employee versus per participant.

Numbers of companies recruited and participating, campaign activities, minutes of exercise, and costs were recorded on implementation logs. Companies completed surveys describing business type, number and sex of employees, existing health promotion programs, and perceived benefits of participation.

Of the 365 companies invited to participate, 33 % participated (range 15 % to 50%). Participating companies were more likely than nonparticipating companies to offer other health promotion programs and perceived greater benefits from participation. Women and smaller companies had significantly greater participation rates than men and larger companies. Average employee participation rates ranged from as high as 84% in smaller organizations to as low as 16% as organization size increased.

Community-based worksite exercise competitions appear to be a viable strategy for promoting employee exercise, particularly in smaller companies. Group-based contingencies applied in natural work units may facilitate employee participation. Further research is needed to assess the relative efficacy of this approach, compare alternative incentives, and identify strategies to enhance exercise maintenance after the intervention has ceased.

This study was conducted to determine the relation between the quantity of strength training and hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol ⩽ 240 mg/dl) in men. A secondary objective was to ascertain the effects of age, smoking, alcohol use, body mass, and participation in physical activities other than strength training on the association between strength training and hypercholesterolemia.

A cross-sectional research design was used.

Data were collected at the worksites of subjects throughout the United States.

The participants were 8499 male employees of more than 50 companies.

Blood was drawn while the subjects were in a fasting state, and a questionnaire was used to collect the demographic and lifestyle information, including the data about strength training. The subjects were divided into five groups according to their self-reported duration and frequency (i.e., quantity) of participation in strength training.

Subjects who reported regular involvement in strength training had a reduced risk of hypercholesterolemia. However, after controlling for all the potential confounders, only the high-quantity lifters, those who completed 4 to 7 hours of strength training each week, maintained a reduced risk of hypercholesterolemia.

High-quantity strength training is strongly associated with a reduced risk of hypercholesterolemia, even after controlling for numerous, potentially confounding factors (odds ratio = .46; 95% confidence interval = .23 to .91).

The goal of the study was to characterize the dietary patterns of adult men and women.

The study used a cross-sectional analysis of food consumption behaviors and nutrient intake measured from 1984 through 1988.

The Framingham Offspring/Spouse Study, Framingham, Massachusetts.

The population-based sample comprised 1831 men and 1828 women between 20 and 70 years of age.

Dietary patterns were defined by cluster analyses, which used the estimates of usual daily food intake from food frequency questionnaires, and the patterns were compared with Food Guide Pyramid recommendations. Nutrient intakes were independently estimated from 24-hour recalls and compared with Year 2000 nutrition recommendations.

Cluster analyses identified five groups of men and five groups of women with distinctive dietary patterns. Men differed on intakes of all food groups except vegetables and snacks plus sweetened beverages. Specific dietary behaviors, including low intakes of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and other complex carbohydrates; high intakes of beer and liquor; and high intakes of high-fat animal foods warrant targeted intervention messages for men. Women's patterns differed across all food groups except red meats and fattier poultry and beer. Dietary behaviors of women that deserve attention include low fruit, vegetable, starch, and dairy intakes; chronic dieting; high alcohol intake; and sources of hidden fats. No cluster met the current recommendations for food and nutrient intake.

Distinct dietary patterns in Framingham men and women vary in compliance with national nutrition and health policy objectives and provide insights for developing behavioral interventions to improve food and nutrient intake.

To investigate the association between perceived stress and illness-related work absenteeism.

A standardized health profile questionnaire developed by Johnson & Johnson Advanced Behavioral Technologies, Inc., was used to collect demographic and personal health data between June 1988 and January 1993. Chi-square, odds ratio, and stepwise regression tests were used to analyze perceived stress and self-reported absenteeism data.

Worksite health promotion programs in 250 U.S. companies.

Subjects consisted of 79,070 employees.

Stress data, grouped as low, moderate, and high, were correlated with absenteeism data grouped by annual days missed (None, 1 to 2, 3 to 4, and 5+).

Significant relationships were found (p ⩽ .05) between high stress and absenteeism for both genders. Female workers reported higher stress levels and absenteeism than men. Those with high stress were 2.22 more likely to be absent 5+ days per year than those with low stress. Work, finances, and family were the highest stress sources. Greatest absenteeism predictors were health, legal, social, and financial stress.

These data primarily represented self-selected white workers and may not apply to all employees. However, if high stress relates to absenteeism, these data may provide valuable information for program design in stress management.