how to measure body mass index in the workplace

Working Well Solutions February 12 Version 1 Page1 How to Series Measurement of Height/Weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) Introduction Obesity rates have increased sharply in the UK and are projected to rise still further. Government initiatives aiming to reduce the national tendency have failed to stop the increase. Therefore as obesity rates rise it will become more of an issue for OH professionals as overweight young adults enter the workplace and those already in employment get bigger. Equipment and environments will have to take into consideration the size and capability of those who may be in the ‘morbidly obese’ category. BMI categories Research shows that risks of disease and incapacity increase with weight gain and the BMI scales have been used for years as a predictor of future ill health and to help decide on risk factors. An individual’s BMI is calculated by dividing the weight in kilos by height in metres squared. Therefore a weight of 70 kilos and height 152 cms = 70 ÷ (1.52 x 1.52) = 30.2 BMI Underweight < 18.5 Ideal 18.5 – 25 Overweight 25 – 30 Obese 30 – 40 Very Obese 40 + Equipment Tape or wall measure in centimetres Calibrated weight scales Method Measure height without shoes Measure weight without shoes and calculate weight of clothing to be subtracted or note the clothes worn Outcome BMI result in ‘normal’ limits or above Records Record all findings in individual case file Report fitness for work to employer Occupational Health implications Some occupations require that individuals have specific limits to their weight, which is linked to the perception of agility and mobility, for example train drivers. Height and weight measurement is also part of many health promotion exercises and health screening activities. Nowadays the issue of obesity linked to specific occupations is fraught with problems as the BMI calculation takes no account if an individual is particular athletic or muscular (muscle weighs more than fat). There is also no calculation for pregnancy or breastfeeding mothers or people who are frail. For pre-placement in the future there will be more issues with mobility and ergonomics as the obesity problems developing in childhood begin to manifest in the workplace. Many employers will look to the OH professional to advise them appropriately on employment issues and risk assessment principles and also to undertake health promotion on those most affected as part of a wellbeing programme. Occupational Health (OH) is seen as a public health speciality with OH nurses on the third part of the register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Health promotion initiatives around wellbeing and keeping fit and healthy form part of the

Upload: jane-coombs

Post on 02-Aug-2015

42 views

Category:

Health & Medicine

0 download

Report

Download

Embed Size (px):

TRANSCRIPT

Working Well Solutions February 12 Version 1

Page1

How to Series Measurement of Height/Weight and Body Mass Index (BMI)

Introduction Obesity rates have increased sharply in the UK and are projected to rise still further. Government initiatives aiming to reduce the national tendency have failed to stop the increase. Therefore as obesity rates rise it will become more of an issue for OH professionals as overweight young adults enter the workplace and those already in employment get bigger. Equipment and environments will have to take into consideration the size and capability of those who may be in the ‘morbidly obese’ category. BMI categories Research shows that risks of disease and incapacity increase with weight gain and the BMI scales have been used for years as a predictor of future ill health and to help decide on risk factors. An individual’s BMI is calculated by dividing the weight in kilos by height in metres squared. Therefore a weight of 70 kilos and height 152 cms = 70 ÷ (1.52 x 1.52) = 30.2 BMI

Underweight < 18.5

Ideal 18.5 – 25

Overweight 25 – 30

Obese 30 – 40

Very Obese 40 +

Equipment Tape or wall measure in centimetres Calibrated weight scales

Method Measure height without shoes Measure weight without shoes and calculate weight of clothing to be subtracted or note the clothes worn

Outcome BMI result in ‘normal’ limits or above Records Record all findings in individual case file

Report fitness for work to employer Occupational Health implications

Some occupations require that individuals have specific limits to their weight, which is linked to the perception of agility and mobility, for example train drivers. Height and weight measurement is also part of many health promotion exercises and health screening activities. Nowadays the issue of obesity linked to specific occupations is fraught with problems as the BMI calculation takes no account if an individual is particular athletic or muscular (muscle weighs more than fat). There is also no calculation for pregnancy or breastfeeding mothers or people who are frail. For pre-placement in the future there will be more issues with mobility and ergonomics as the obesity problems developing in childhood begin to manifest in the workplace. Many employers will look to the OH professional to advise them appropriately on employment issues and risk assessment principles and also to undertake health promotion on those most affected as part of a wellbeing programme. Occupational Health (OH) is seen as a public health speciality with OH nurses on the third part of the register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Health promotion initiatives around wellbeing and keeping fit and healthy form part of the

Working Well Solutions February 12 Version 1

Page2

general philosophy of care within the discipline. Issues with severe obesity could be covered under the Equality Act so employers may have to consider reasonable adjustments if the definition of disability is applicable.

Follow up Individual health education and group health promotion advice on healthy eating and exercise programmes can assist with weight loss or gain for those who are outside the required parameters

Further Information Go to NHS Choices for a BMI calculator and advice on how to lose weight. There is also a free app available for I phones and I pads to calculate and monitor weight. http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyweightcalculator.aspx Go to NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) for research based methods of dealing with eating disorders and guidance on health promotion initiatives in the general population www.nice.org.uk

Mass Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object. Mass is measure in grams. Mass is measured using a triple beam balance

Validation of Methods to Measure Mass Flux of a

Triple Beam Balance Used to accurately measure the mass of objects

How Do You Measure Up? 10/9/13 Key Question: What does Volume and Mass measure? Initial Thoughts:

Workplace Happiness: Towards Total Health & Well-Being · Workplace Happiness: Applications Workplace Happiness Analytics Key Concepts - Satisfaction measure - Alignment measure -

How Do You Measure Up? 10/13/15 Key Question: What does Mass, Volume and Distance measure? Initial Thoughts:

SINAR TECHNOLOGY MOISTURE ANALYZERS · SINAR TECHNOLOGY ... Final Mass x 100 or %MC = Wet Mass – Dry Mass x 100 Initial Mass Wet Mass It is also possible to measure the moisture

Matter – anything that has mass and volume How do we measure mass in lab? How do we measure volume in lab? What unit is used to measure mass?

Why Should We Use Mass Spectrometry to Measure ... · Why Should We Use Mass Spectrometry to Measure Vitamin D Metabolites? Andy Hoofnagle, MD PhD University of Washington VDSP November

Measure mass (2) 2 The mass of each object is shown on the

How you measure how much? You can measure mass, or volume, or you can count pieces. We measure mass in grams. We measure volume in liters. We count pieces

Changing Workforce Demographics and Workplace …Changing Workforce Demographics and Workplace Injury Frequency INTRODUCTION By any measure, claim frequency in workers compensation