Which Worksite Supports for Healthy Weight Do Employees Use?

Abstract

This article explores factors associated with employee use of available supports for improving nutrition and activity behaviors. A cross-sectional telephone survey assessed presence and use of available program, facility, and policy supports. Logistic regression was used to explore associations between job characteristics (e.g., supervising others) and use of available supports, adjusting for demographic characteristics. After adjustment, most supports were associated with at least one job-related factor. Participants supervising others were more likely to utilize eight supports, including personal services for fitness, indoor exercise and shower facilities, and flextime for physical activity. The programs and facilities associated with the most factors were health fairs (e.g., increased likelihood with increased hours worked per week) and indoor exercise and shower facilities (e.g., increased likelihood with increased flexibility at work), respectively. Policies were associated with fewer factors. As use of many programs and facilities differed based on job-related factors, employers might target supports based on job-related factors.