J.M. Cairns
Weighing up the evidence: a systematic review of the effectiveness of workplace interventions to tackle socio-economic inequalities in obesity
Cairns, J.M.; Bambra, C.; Hillier-Brown, F.C.; Moore, H.J.; Summerbell, C.D.
Authors
C. Bambra
F.C. Hillier-Brown
H.J. Moore
Professor Carolyn Summerbell carolyn.summerbell@durham.ac.uk
Professor
Abstract
Background: Addressing socio-economic inequalities in obesity is a public health priority and the workplace is seen as a potential health promotion site. However, there is a lack of evidence on what works. This article systematically reviews studies of the effects of workplace interventions on socio-economic inequalities in obesity. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched for published or unpublished experimental and observational evaluation studies. Nine electronic databases were searched as well as websites and bibliographies. Included studies were data extracted, quality assessed and narratively synthesized. Results: Eighteen studies were included of which 14 examined behavioural interventions and 4 mixed or environmental ones. While most studies (n = 12) found no effects on inequalities in obesity—and a minority found increases (n = 3), there was also some evidence of potentially effective workplace interventions (n = 3)especially in terms of physical activity interventions targeted at lower occupational groups. Conclusion: There is experimental evidence that workplace delivered physical activity interventions have the potential to reduce inequalities in obesity by targeting lower occupational groups. However, overall, the evidence base is small, largely from the USA, and of a low quality. More high-quality, experimental study designs are required.
Citation
Cairns, J., Bambra, C., Hillier-Brown, F., Moore, H., & Summerbell, C. (2015). Weighing up the evidence: a systematic review of the effectiveness of workplace interventions to tackle socio-economic inequalities in obesity. Journal of Public Health, 37(4), 659-670. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdu077
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Dec 1, 2015 |
Deposit Date | Oct 15, 2014 |
Publicly Available Date | Jan 18, 2016 |
Journal | Journal of Public Health |
Print ISSN | 1741-3842 |
Electronic ISSN | 1741-3850 |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 37 |
Issue | 4 |
Pages | 659-670 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdu077 |
Keywords | Obesity, Workplace, Interventions, Socio-economic status (SES), Inequalities. |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1421880 |
Files
Accepted Journal Article
(763 Kb)
PDF
Copyright Statement
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Public Health following peer review. The version of record Cairns, J.M., Bambra, C., Hillier-Brown, F.C., Moore, H.J. and Summerbell, C.D. (2015) 'Weighing up the evidence : a systematic review of the effectiveness of workplace interventions to tackle socio-economic inequalities in obesity.', Journal of public health., 37 (4). pp. 659-670 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdu077.
You might also like
Defying Deprivation: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Area Level Health Resilience in England
(2012)
Journal Article
Defying the odds: A mixed-methods study of health resilience in deprived areas of England
(2013)
Journal Article
Downloadable Citations
About Durham Research Online (DRO)
Administrator e-mail: dro.admin@durham.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2025
Advanced Search