ABSTRACT
The responsibility for leading health promotion in the workplace is often placed with the occupational health department. There is a mutual benefit for employers and employees to take an active interest in measures to promote weight loss and thereby improve the quality of life and work productivity. Working men have become heavier over the years, reflecting lifestyle changes in the general population and also this reducing physical activity at work. The workplace meal is often the main meal of the day for many workers and meal provisions and choices are key influences for body weight. Obese workers are reported as having more difficulty in getting along with co-workers, and severe obesity may result in higher numbers of lost work days. Obesity may predispose to physical disability, due to the mechanical implications of a high body weight limiting activity, or medical disability, due to associated ill health arising from arthritis, cardiovascular complications, depression or diabetes mellitus.
