摘要：Objectives. Obesity has emerged as one of the most important public health issues in the United States. We assessed obesity prevalence rates and their trends among major US occupational groups. Methods. Self-reported weight and height were collected annually on US workers, aged 18 years or older, from the 1986 to 1995 and the 1997 to 2002 National Health Interview Surveys. Overall, occupation-, race-, and gender-specific rates of obesity (defined as a body mass index>30.0 kg/m2) were calculated with data pooled from both study periods (n>600000). Annual occupation-specific prevalence rates were also calculated, and their time trends were assessed. Results. Obesity rates increased significantly over time among employed workers, irrespective of race and gender. The average yearly change increased from 0.61% (±.04) during the period from 1986 to 1995 to 0.95% (±.11) during the period from 1997 to 2002. Average obesity prevalence rates and corresponding trends varied considerably across occupational groups; pooled obesity prevalence rates were highest in motor vehicle operators (31.7% in men; 31.0% in women). Conclusions. Weight loss intervention programs targeting workers employed in occupational groups with high or increasing rates of obesity are urgently needed. In the United States, obesity has risen at an unprecedented rate during the past 20 years, 1 and current research indicates that the situation is worsening rather than improving. From 1960 to 1980, the prevalence of obesity among adults in the United States was relatively stable; however, recent findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that 3 out of every 10 US adults are obese. 2 In addition to increasing mortality from all causes, obesity is linked to an increased risk of developing hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, stroke, asthma, and sleep apnea. 3 – 7 Additionally, new evidence suggests that obesity is a risk factor for endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. 8 – 10 The relationship between obesity and occupation has not been fully investigated. Work-related factors, such as job and position, job stress, and extended work (including overtime night work and sedentary work) may promote weight gain and abdominal fat accumulation. 11 – 14 One of the national Healthy People 2010 Objectives is to reduce the prevalence rate of obesity among adults to less than 15%, 15 therefore, because treatment often fails, research efforts focused on prevention are required. Weight loss intervention and education programs targeting workers employed in various occupational groups are urgently needed, but, unfortunately, nationally representative data identifying occupational groups with the highest obesity rates are not presently available. 16 , 17 It is also not known which occupational groups are experiencing large increases in obesity rates. Our research objective was to evaluate overall, gender- and race-specific obesity rates and their 17-year trends, including the past decade, within 41 occupational groups using nationally representative samples of the US worker population.
