[Intervention for prevention and therapy of overweight-obesity in an engineering company]

Obesity is often burdensome for workers. A workplace health promotion starts from simple parameters such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (CV), blood pressure (BP), together with the type of activity and shift work. Such data can be gathered through periodic health surveillance, and are useful to calibrate properly the type of needed intervention. Here is described a program of health promotion aimed at inprouving overweight-obesity settled in an engineering company of northern Italy. During the periodic health surveillance in relation to occupational hazards assessed was found a higher incidence, compared with age and sex, of overweight/obese workers than national average. Plans of action in the company were: meetings of awareness and information on lifestyle and food targeted to shift workers; offer of diagnostic-therapeutic route in the second level outpatients clinic "Obesity and work"; the presence of metabolic syndrome was found in 62.5% of the subjects examined. At the end of multidisciplinary intervention, conducted in concert with the occupational physician of the plant, were carried out two major initiatives: an action on the canteen aimed at preventing the nutritional type of meals offered to suit the dietary needs of overweight/obese workers and the conclusion of an agreement with gyms adjacent the two company locations motivating workers to increase physical exercise.