Ann Occup Environ Med.  2015 ;27(1):32. 10.1186/s40557-015-0082-z.

Association between shift work and obesity according to body fat percentage in Korean wage workers: data from the fourth and the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2008-2011)

• Son M
• Ye BJ
• Kim JI
• Kang S
• Jung KY

• KMID: 2370878
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-015-0082-z

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Health problems in shift workers vary including obesity acting as a risk factor in cerebrovascular diseases. Recent studies have commonly determined the prevalence of obesity in shift workers on the basis of body mass index. The accuracy of BMI for diagnosing obesity are still limited apparently. Consequently, this study aimed to determine the relationship between shift work and obesity according to the total body fat percentage in Korean wage workers.
METHODS
From the Fourth and the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2011), after military personnel were excluded, a total of 2952 wage workers (20 < or = age < or = 65) whose current jobs were their longest jobs were selected as subjects of the study. The total body fat percentage was used to determine the obesity standards (> or =25.7 % in males and > or =36.0 % in females). The subjects were divided into groups by gender and work type (manual vs non-manual), and chi-squared test was used to evaluate the relationship between socio-economic, health behavior, and work-related factors, on the one hand, and obesity, on the other. In addition, multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the effects of shift work on obesity.
RESULTS
When other factors were controlled for, the risk of obesity in shift work showed a statistically significant increase (odds ratio = 1.779, 95 % confidence interval = 1.050-3.015) in the male manual worker group. However, there were no significant results in the male non-manual and female worker groups.
CONCLUSION
Shift work was related to a higher risk of obesity in the Korean male manual worker group.

Keyword

Shift work; Obesity; Body fat percentage

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue*
Body Mass Index
Female
Hand
Health Behavior
Humans
Korea*
Logistic Models
Male
Military Personnel
Nutrition Surveys*
Obesity*
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Salaries and Fringe Benefits*