Effects of worksite physical exercise intervention on physical fitness, perceived health status, and work ability among home care workers: Five-year follow-up

Objective. The effects and constancy of a worksite physical exercise interv ention were examined in relation to the physical fitness, perceived health status, and work ability of female service workers during periods of 1 and 5 years. Methods. The subjects comprised female home care workers divided into an in tervention group (n = 50, mean age 41.8 (SD 10.4) years) and a control grou p (n = 37, mean age 43.3 (SD 8.8) years). The intervention group participat ed in 9 months of supervised exercise intervention twice a week during the workday. Functional capacity, perceived health, and work ability were asses sed at the beginning of the study and after a 1- and a 5-year period of fol low-up. Results, In the 1-year follow-up measurements, body fat had decreased (4%) and dynamic muscle performance and maximal oxygen consumption in relation t o body mass (30-38 and 7%, respectively) had increased in the intervention group. The differences in outcome variables between the intervention and th e control groups were significant (from P = 0.014 to P < 0.001), These posi tive effects of worksite exercise were observed despite the age of the subj ects, and the changes were consistent during a 5-year period. In the contro l group the decline of the work ability index (L smean) was about three tim es faster than in the intervention group during the 5-year period. Conclusions. Physical exercise executed in work units can be used to improv e the physical capacity of female home care aides and prevent the early dec line of their work ability. In jobs that are physically demanding, such as home care work, early prevention must start before the age-related deterior ation of health and physical capacity. <(c)> 2001 American Health Foundatio n and Academic Press.