Programs in the workplace designed to get people to exercise can improve fitness, cut cholesterol levels, reduce job stress and even improve attendance, a new analysis of the medical literature shows.
But it's still not clear what makes for the most effective type of program, Dr. Vicki S. Conn of the University of Missouri in Columbia, the lead author of the research, told Reuters Health.
"We do have really good evidence that the interventions do work," she said. "What we couldn't say from this is that this intervention works better than that intervention."
Conn and her colleagues looked at dozens of studies of workplace physical activity interventions. The studies included about 38,000 people.
They found significant positive effects for the interventions on "physical activity behavior," meaning whether or not people became more active, and also on fitness level. The programs also helped fuel healthy changes in lipids (meaning harmful fats in the blood such as triglycerides), measures of body size, work attendance, and job stress, the researchers report.
Read the full article.
Tags: health, workplace, stress
Categories: News