Women's occupations, energy expenditure, and cardiovascular risk factors

The purpose of this study was to examine the cardiovascular risk factors an d energy expenditure of women from occupations that differ by physical acti vity level and socioeconomic level. Participants included 171 women randoml y selected from employee lists at 10 employment sites. Measures included bl ood pressure, body mass index, levels of total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, a submaximal aerobic fitness test on a bicycle ergomete r, and a 12-month retrospective self-report of occupational, leisure time, and household energy expenditure. Women in active occupations had lower tot al cholesterol and higher HDL cholesterol than women in sedentary occupatio ns. Women with higher occupational energy expenditure scores had higher HDL cholesterol and lower total cholesterol than women with lower occupational energy scores. Findings suggest that cardiovascular benefits, particularly for lipid profiles, may be derived from even small increases in occupation al physical activity. The workplace may offer an environment for initiating policies to facilitate increased physical activity among women.