Effects of a Worksite Health Programme on the Improvement of Physical Health among Overweight and Obese Civil Servants: A Pilot Study

Background: Physical inactivity and reduced energy expenditure has led to increased obesity among office workers. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of a worksite health programme aimed at improving physical health among obese civil servants.
Methods: A total of 28 employees participated in a six-month-long obesity health programme, which consisted of two weekly unsupervised exercise sessions and monthly dietary/health education sessions. The physical fitness and body fat percentages of participants were assessed at the baseline and after six months, using SPSS version 20.0.
Results: The participants were 31.6 years (SD 8.2) of age, and had a BMI of 27.6 kg/m² (SD 3.2). The Wilcoxon test showed significant differences in body fat percentage (P = 0.010), gross maximum oxygen uptake (VO_2max, P = 0.014), partial curl up repetition (P = 0.001) and sit and reach distance (P = 0.005). However, no significant effects were observed on body mass (P = 0.193), self-perceived level of physical activity (P = 0.145) or behaviour toward exercise (P = 0.393).
Conclusion: The worksite health programme successfully improved the physical fitness and body fat percentages of subjects, despite not improving the subjects’ self-perceptions with regard to physical activity.