Women in the Workplace: Promoting Healthy Lifestyles and Mitigating Weight Gain during the Preconception, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Periods

Overweight and obesity before, during, and after pregnancy are associated with adverse outcomes for mothers and their offspring. Workplaces have been identified as important settings for improving health and wellbeing. However, the value of workplace interventions for women across the reproductive life stages has yet to be realized. This paper aims to explore the potential of workplaces to facilitate healthy lifestyle behaviors, prevent further weight gain, and devise tailored interventions for working women, specifically during the preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum periods. Workplaces can be used to engage women, including preconception women, who are detached from clinical settings. Potential benefits of workplace health promotion for women and employers include improved employee wellbeing, productivity, and corporate competitiveness. However, workplaces also need to overcome implementation barriers such as activity scheduling and availability. A systems approach may address these barriers. Consequently, designing and implementing workplace health promotion interventions to meet the specific needs of working women of reproductive age will necessitate collaboration with a range of key stakeholders across all stages of intervention design. Given that these women make up a considerable proportion of the workforce, workplaces can help optimize the health status of employees and prevent excess weight gain during the preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum periods.

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The Relationship of Diet and Physical Activity with Weight Gain and Weight Gain Prevention in Women of Reproductive Age

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10112485 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 2485

Author(s):

Mamaru Ayenew Awoke ◽

Helen Skouteris ◽

Maureen Makama ◽

Cheryce L. Harrison ◽

Thomas Philip Wycherley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Weight Gain ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Reproductive Age ◽

Weight Gain Prevention ◽

Life Stages ◽

Reproductive Age Women ◽

Pregnancy And Postpartum ◽

Diet And Physical Activity ◽

Reproductive Life

Reproductive-age women often see increased weight gain, which carries an increased risk of long-term overweight and obesity and adverse maternal and child health outcomes. Supporting women to achieve optimal weight through lifestyle modification (diet and physical activity) is of critical importance to reduce weight gain across key reproductive life-stages (preconception, pregnancy and postpartum). This review comprehensively summarizes the current state of knowledge on the contribution of diet and physical activity to weight gain and weight gain prevention in reproductive-aged women. Suboptimal diets including a higher proportion of discretionary choices or energy intake from fats, added sugars, sweets or processed foods are associated with higher weight gain, whereas increased consumption of core foods including fruits, vegetables and whole grains and engaging in regular physical activity are associated with reduced weight gain in reproductive age women. Diet and physical activity contributing to excessive gestational weight gain are well documented. However, there is limited research assessing diet and physical activity components associated with weight gain during the preconception and postpartum period. This review highlights the need for further research to identify key dietary and physical activity components targeting the critical windows of reproductive life-stages in women to best guide interventions to prevent weight gain.

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Effective Workplace Health Promotion in the Network Society: the Role of Communication

SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO ◽

10.3280/sl2018-150012 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 218-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gea Ducci ◽

Lella Mazzoli

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Workplace Health Promotion ◽

Network Society ◽

Workplace Health

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Truckies and the Australian transport industry: Managers’ perspectives about enablers and inhibitors to workplace health promotion

Work ◽

10.3233/wor-203365 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Marguerite C. Sendall ◽

Alison Brodie ◽

Laura K. McCosker ◽

Phil Crane ◽

Marylou Fleming ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Action Research ◽

Participatory Action Research ◽

Workplace Health Promotion ◽

Road Transport ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Workplace Health ◽

Participatory Action ◽

Transport Industry ◽

Health Promotion Interventions

BACKGROUND: There is little published research about managers’ views on implementing and embedding workplace health promotion interventions. OBJECTIVE: To shed light on research-to-practice challenges in implementing workplace health promotion interventions in the Australian road transport industry. METHODS: In this Participatory Action Research project, managers from small-to-midsized companies in the Australian road transport industry were asked their views about enablers and barriers to implementing nutrition and physical activity interventions in their workplace. RESULTS: Managers identified practical assistance with resources, ideas, and staffing as being key enablers to implementation. Barriers included time restraints, worker age and lack of interest, and workplace issues relating to costs and resources. CONCLUSION: Manager perspectives add new insights about successful implementation of workplace health promotion. A Participatory Action Research approach allows managers to develop their own ideas for adapting interventions to suit their workplace. These findings add to a small body of knowledge of managers’ views about implementing workplace health promotion in small-to-midsized road transport companies - a relatively unexplored group. Managers highlight the importance of time constraints and worker availability when designing interventions for the road transport industry. Managers require a good understanding of the workplaces’ socio-cultural context for successful health promotion and health behaviour change.

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Workplace Health in Kentucky: A Statewide Comparison

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105473 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5473

Author(s):

Gretchen Macy ◽

Jacqueline Basham ◽

Cecilia Watkins ◽

Vijay Golla

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Occupational Safety ◽

Workplace Health Promotion ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Occupational Safety And Health ◽

Workplace Health ◽

Positive Direction ◽

Research Software ◽

Safety And Health ◽

Statewide Assessment

The objectives of this study were to assess the state of Kentucky’s workplace health promotion and occupational safety and health programs, to ensure the ability to comprehend any possible trends over the past six years in the state’s progress in offering workplace health promotion and health protection programs, to compare the results of this survey with the 2013 Kentucky state-wide assessment, and to identify gaps in Kentucky’s workplace health promotion and occupational safety and health based on Total Worker Health® (TWH) concepts. Using Qualtrics research software, the Workplace Health in America assessment was sent to companies located in Kentucky and having 10 or more employees. Participants were identified using Dun and Bradstreet’s Hoover’s database. The results showed that, as with the 2013 survey, larger workplaces significantly were more likely to offer workplace health promotion programs than smaller companies (X2 = 24.30; p < 0.001). However, more companies (78%) reported offering programs compared to the 2013 assessment (49%). Given the results of the current study as compared to the statewide assessment conducted in 2013, Kentucky’s WHP is moving in a positive direction; yet, there is still much to be done. There remains a strong need to provide cost-effective and accessible resources for all elements of TWH to small workplaces.

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Identifying Health and Safety Risks for Childcare Workers

AAOHN Journal ◽

10.1177/216507990705500804 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 55 (8) ◽

pp. 321-325 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Belinda J. McGrath

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Occupational Health ◽

Workplace Health Promotion ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Workplace Health ◽

Safety Issues ◽

Safety Risks ◽

Health Promotion Programs ◽

Childcare Workers ◽

Health And Safety Risks

Childcare workers are exposed to several health and safety risks in their work environment, the most common being infectious diseases, musculoskeletal injuries, accidents, and occupational stress. Pregnant childcare workers have an additional risk of potential harm to the fetus. Occupational health nurses can work collaboratively with childcare workers to reduce these risks and provide workplace health promotion programs. This article explores the occupational health and safety issues for childcare workers and suggests health promotion strategies that could be implemented by occupational health nurses working in this arena.

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