The effects of obesity on muscle activity during lifting tasks

The obesity prevalence is growing in the workforce of the industrialized countries. Obesity has more than doubled since 1980 and, currently, more than 1.4 billion adults have overweight (WHO, 2012). Nevertheless, obesity is associated with psychological, social and physical problems, which can negatively affect the productivity. Subjects with overweight are absent from work due to illness for longer periods and more often than non-obese subjects, being this absenteeism frequently related to WMSD (Lier et al., 2009).