Review of Evidence and Rationale for Workplace Health
This report was commissioned by the Department of Sport and Recreation to provide an updated review of information on workplace physical activity and health promotion programs to inform the developments of this agenda in Western Australia.
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Physical activity and health
There is compelling epidemiologic and scientific evidence that regular physical activity not only contributes to well-being but is essential for good health, favourably affects weight and body composition1 and is associated with lower all cause mortality and morbidity. People who are (sufficiently) physically active reduce their risk of developing major chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes mellitus by as much as 50% and premature death by 20-30%.
Recent US guidelines recommend that "to promote and maintain health, all healthy adults need to engage in moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30 minutes per day on 5 ays per week, or vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes per day on 3 ays per week". Combinations of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity can be performed to eet these guidelines and the physical activity can be accumulated towards the 30-minute minimum from bouts lasting 10 or more minutes.
Consistent with US Guidelines, the National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australian Adults recommends "participation in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week, to accrue health benefits". However, despite the known health benefits, just over half (59%) of all Western Australian adults report participating in sufficient levels of physical activity.
Creating ‘supportive environments'
Creating ‘supportive environments' has become a cornerstone of health promotion. The workplace environment is clearly identified as an important action area for health promotion in the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (10, article 62) and more recently in the WHO's Global Plan of Action on Workers' Health 2008-20179 and Economic Forum report on preventing noncommunicable diseases in the workplace through diet and physical activity:"Health promotion and prevention of noncommunicable diseases should be further stimulated in the workplace, in particular by advocating healthy diet and physical activity among workers and promoting mental health at work . . ."The potential of the workplace setting lies in the opportunity for easy and regular access to a ‘captive audience' and a large number of individuals. In addition, program benefits can be actively disseminated by employees to family and friends, thus indirectly having a positive effect on the health of the wider community.
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