ABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to measure the stress and strain in different types of kitchen work. The work of kitchen helpers is one of the heaviest municipal occupations, especially among elderly women. The subjects were chosen from two kitchens. One of them was a kitchen in a municipal service department, the other being a kitchen in a hospital. The subjects' mean age was 40 years. The body weight, height and fat percentage were all higher in the non-centralized kitchen (NC-kitchen) than in the centralized kitchen (C-kitchen) workers. The workers in the C-kitchen spend less time at the dishwasher conveyor moving dishes and trays to and from the dishwasher than those in the NC-kitchen. This could be because dish-washing in the centralized kitchen has to be done in a given time as group work. In the non-centralized kitchen the workers could regulate their working speed more freely.
