The effect of body mass index and exercise activity on the work ability index among staff of Pegah Company

According to recent studies, the rate of overweight, obesity and low physical activity are rising among individuals, especially among workers that can affect the productivity and ability of working. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of body mass index (BMI) and exercise activity on the work ability index (WAI) of the employees of Pegah Golestan Company.
This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study based on simple randomized sampling method and performed on 107 employees of Pegah Company in 2015. Demographic and job related information were collected using standard work ability index questionnaire. The body mass index was measured and classified based on the guidelines of World Health Organization (WHO). Collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software using T-Test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation tests.
Mean of the work ability index in this study was 25.9± 3.8 wich indicates overweight among the staff of the company. Also, the mean work ability index in the study subjects was 44.92± 5.56. According to WAI score, 10.9, 35.6, and 53.3 percent of subjects, have the ability of average, good and excellent for working, respectively. There was a significant correlation between exercise activity and mean WAI index (P The mean WAI was at an acceptable level (WAI >36). Considering the average age of employees (32.38 ± 7.3) which ndicates that they are young, their overweight and sedentary lifestyle can lead to various diseases, reduced working ability, and early retirement in the future.