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Workplace-wide interventions to prevent obesity

Public Health & Prevention: Community-based
  Literature review updated November 2015.

Workplace-wide initiatives to reduce obesity target all employees. We only included studies that measured the impact of the programs on all employees, regardless of whether they participated. The interventions included in this analysis varied widely, but included at least one of the following program components: weight loss or healthy eating competitions; fitness classes and walking clubs; classes or information on obesity prevention; newsletters, signs and posters promoting healthy choices; onsite farmers markets; increased availability of healthy food and vending options; and decreased price of healthy food and drinks.
 
ALL
META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on crime or educational attainment). Treatment N represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An effect size (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments, which we apply between the first time ES is estimated and the second time ES is estimated. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured No. of effect sizes Treatment N Effect sizes (ES) and standard errors (SE) Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
ES SE Age ES p-value
Obesity
Obese based on clinical guidelines for adults (body mass index of 30 or higher) or children (body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex), as appropriate.
0 4 1338 -0.010 0.039 47 -0.010 0.809

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Elliot, D.L., Goldberg, L., Kuehl, K.S., Moe, E.L., Breger, R.K., & Pickering, M.A. (2007). The PHLAME (Promoting Healthy Lifestyles: Alternative Models' Effects) firefighter study: outcomes of two models of behavior change. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 49(2), 204-13.

French, S.A., Harnack, L.J., Hannan, P.J., Mitchell, N.R., Gerlach, A.F., & Toomey, T.L. (2010). Worksite environment intervention to prevent obesity among metropolitan transit workers. Preventive Medicine, 50(4), 180-185.

Lemon, S.C., Zapka, J., Li, W., Estabrook, B., Rosal, M., Magner, R., Andersen, V., ... Hale, J. (2010). Step ahead a worksite obesity prevention trial among hospital employees. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38(1), 27-38.

Linde, J.A., Nygaard, K.E., MacLehose, R.F., Mitchell, N.R., Harnack, L.J., Cousins, J.M., Graham, D.J., ... Jeffery, R. W. (2012). HealthWorks: results of a multi-component group-randomized worksite environmental intervention trial for weight gain prevention. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9(1), 1-12.