Preventing Obesity in the Worksite: A Multi-Message, Multi-"Step" Approach

The purpose of this research study is to develop, implement, and evaluate a multi-component obesity prevention program in a workplace setting. A quasi-experimental design will be utilized, with hospital employees receiving the intervention and clinic employees serving as the comparison group. It is hypothesized that the intervention group will see greater changes in healthier eating, increased participation in physical activity, and reduced risk for obesity (weight, BMI, waist circumference).

Over one-third of Americans are now considered obese. Efforts to prevent obesity involve changing the individual behaviors that contribute to obesity, mainly healthful eating and physical activity, as well as the social and physical context in which those behaviors take place. Due to their existing networks and available resources, worksites are a logical place to help individuals make healthy choices through health promotion efforts. The purpose of this project is to partner with a community hospital to plan, implement, and evaluate a multi-component obesity prevention program in their workplace. The prevention program will target individual and interpersonal determinants of eating behavior and physical activity, as well as the context in which these behaviors take place. This intervention will include four integrated components: (1) nutrition labeling (using stoplights, calories, and step equivalents) in the worksite cafeteria, and modifying the cafeteria environment, (2) distributing pedometers to employees, (3) persuasive media messaging, and (4) the use of "influentials" to address social norms around eating and physical activity behaviors. A quasi-experimental design will examine the effectiveness of this multi-component worksite obesity prevention program.