Measuring Worksite Food and Physical Activity Environments
Author Information
Author(s): Shimotsu Scott T, French Simone A, Gerlach Anne F, Hannan Peter J
Primary Institution: University of Minnesota
Hypothesis
The study aims to develop a reliable measure of the worksite environment for food, physical activity, and weight management.
Conclusion
The Worksite Environment Measure (WEM) is a reliable tool for assessing the worksite nutrition, physical activity, and weight management environment.
Supporting Evidence
- The WEM showed high inter-rater reliability for food-related items.
- All garages had vending machines, microwaves, and refrigerators.
- Few vending machine items met healthful criteria, with only 15% of foods and 26% of beverages considered healthy.
- Employees reported difficulty in accessing fruits and vegetables and being physically active at work.
Takeaway
This study created a tool to check how healthy the food and exercise options are at work, showing that many places don't have good choices.
Methodology
Two trained raters independently assessed the worksite environment using the Worksite Environment Measure (WEM) at four bus garages.
Limitations
The measure may not generalize to other types of worksites and did not reliably assess the condition of items.
Participant Demographics
Participants were employees at four metropolitan bus garages in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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