Targeting Abdominal Adiposity and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in the Workplace

The prevalence of numerous chronic metabolic diseases is increasing worldwide with considerable personal and societal consequences. The aim of our study was to test the hypothesis that assessment of waist circumference (WC) and of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) could be relevant clinical targets of a simple preventive approach designed to improve cardiometabolic risk (CMR) profile at the workplace.

A total of 787 employees participated in a pilot project of the "Grand Défi Entreprise." This challenge involved a 3-month in-house competition to favor peer support in the adoption of healthier lifestyle habits. For that purpose, the participating companies offered a comprehensive cardiometabolic/cardiorespiratory health assessment performed at the workplace with a mobile risk assessment unit before and after the contest (nutrition/physical activity (PA) questionnaires, resting blood pressure (BP), anthropometric measurements, lipid profile, and submaximal treadmill test).

At baseline, more than 43% of workers were considered sedentary or moderately inactive (<3.5 h·wk of physical activity). Furthermore, the proportion of subjects in the high-risk category of nutritional quality index (NQI) was high (49%). After 3 mo, NQI and PA level improved. Reductions in WC (-4.2 ± 4.0 cm, P < 0.0001), in heart rate at a standardized submaximal workload (-4 ± 10 bpm, P < 0.0001) as well as in resting systolic (-6 ± 11 mm Hg) and diastolic (-4 ± 7 mm Hg) blood pressure were also observed. Improvements in WC and CRF were associated with improvements in the CMR profile.

Results of this study show the added value of measuring/targeting WC and CRF as a relevant approach to reduce CMR at the workplace. Results also suggest that putting in place a permissive "in-house ecosystem" within the company is relevant to promote the adoption of healthier lifestyle habits.