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Objective This review addresses the effectiveness of workplace interventions that are implemented during productive work and are intended to change workers` SB and/or PA. Methods We searched Scopus for articles published from 1992 until 12 March 2015. Relevant studies were evaluated using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies and summarized in a best-evidence synthesis. Primary outcomes were SB and PA, both at work and overall (ie, during the whole day); work performance and health-related parameters were secondary outcomes. Results The review included 40 studies describing 41 interventions organized into three categories: alternative workstations (20), interventions promoting stair use (11), and personalized behavioral interventions (10). Alternative workstations were found to decrease overall SB (strong evidence; even for treadmills separately); interventions promoting stair use were found to increase PA at work while personalized behavioral interventions increased overall PA (both with moderate evidence). There was moderate evidence to show alternative workstations influenced neither hemodynamics nor cardiorespiratory fitness and personalized behavioral interventions did not influence anthropometric measures. Evidence was either insufficient or conflicting for intervention effects on work performance and lipid and metabolic profiles. Conclusions Current evidence suggests that some of the reviewed workplace interventions that are compatible with productive work indeed have positive effects on SB or PA at work. In addition, some of the interventions were found to influence overall SB or PA positively. Putative long-term effects remain to be established. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the longitudinal associations of person-related factors with physical activity (PA) behavior in young adults. Methods: We analyzed longitudinal self-reported time spent in moderate-intensity PA (MPA; 4-7 METs) and vigorous-intensity PA (VPA; >7 METs) from 499 young adults (49% male) who participated in the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study at the age of 21, 27, 32, and 36 yr. Sociodemographic factors (i.e., marital and employment status), physical factors (i.e., skinfolds, aerobic fitness, neuromotor fitness, back problems, and general health status), psychological factors (i.e., problem and emotion focused coping, mild health complaints, and personality), and behavioral factors (i.e., alcohol consumption, smoking, and energy intake) were assessed at each time point. We performed sex-specific univariable and multivariable generalized estimating equations. Results: Men and women with higher aerobic fitness were more moderately and vigorously active. Not having paid work was associated with more MPA in both men and women. Men with part-time paid work, lower scores on dominance, higher scores on hostility, and above moderate alcohol consumption (i.e., ≥140 g of alcohol per week) were more moderately active. Divorced women and those with better physical flexibility spent more time in MPA. Men having full-time paid work, with a good general health status and nonsmokers, were more vigorously active. Women being married/living together, who had better physical flexibility, lower scores on inadequacy, higher scores on dominance, and low caloric intake (around 2000 kcal·d) were more vigorously active. Conclusion: Several sociodemographic, physical, psychological, and behavioral factors were associated with PA in Dutch young adults. Determinants were different for MPA and VPA and for men and women. © 2014 by the American College of Sports Medicine.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations between body mass index (BMI) and sick leave, and the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. METHODS: Data were collected from a large survey among Dutch employees (n = 35,022). The causal pathway approach consisting of four regression analyses was applied. RESULTS: In women, moderate overweight and obesity were associated with higher sick leave; in men, obesity, but not moderate overweight, was associated with higher sick leave. Obese workers were at increased risk for emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion was also associated with higher sick leave rates. Adjustment for emotional exhaustion in the association between BMI and sick leave hardly changed the effect size and significance remained. CONCLUSIONS: The association between BMI status and sick leave can be explained partially by the presence of emotional exhaustion. Workplace health promotion initiatives should take this into account. Copyright © 2013 by American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

STUDY DESIGN.: Longitudinal study of lumbar bone mass as predictor of low back pain (LBP). OBJECTIVE.: To investigate whether low bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) values at the age of 36 years are associated with the prevalence of LBP at the age of 42 years among the study population of the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA.: Results of epidemiological, clinical, and in vitro studies indicate that spinal injuries, caused by mechanical loading, might be a cause of LBP. BMC and BMD are determinants of spinal strength. We therefore hypothesized that BMC and BMD are associated with LBP. METHODS.: At the age of 36 years, the lumbar BMC and BMD were determined by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in 140 men and 152 women. At the age of 42 years, the participants were asked whether they had experienced LBP in the previous 12 months. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine odds ratios (ORs)-adjusted for stature, body weight, physical activity, and smoking-for the relationship of BMC and BMD with LBP. RESULTS.: BMC and BMD at the age of 36 years were significantly associated with the reported 12-month prevalence of LBP at the age of 42 years. This association, however, was observed only for men and not for women. Men within the quartile with the lowest BMC or BMD values had higher odds for LBP with ORs of 4.78 (95% confidence interval, 1.52-15.00) and 3.48 (95% confidence interval, 1.23-9.85), respectively. CONCLUSION.: For a male population that is not characterized by osteoporosis or old age, lower lumbar BMC and BMD values at the age of 36 years are associated with an increased risk of reporting to have had LBP in the previous 12 months at the age of 42 years. Copyright © 2012 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of the willingness and ability of older workers to continue working until the age of 65. METHODS: In this longitudinal study, 4937 employees aged 45 to 63 years included in the Netherlands Working Conditions Cohort Study were studied. Logistic regression analyses were applied. RESULTS: Employees who experienced emotional exhaustion and bullying or harassment by colleagues/supervisor were less often willing to continue working, whereas employees sometimes using force were more often willing to continue working. Emotional exhaustion, a work handicap, higher physical and emotional demands, lower supervisor's support, and intermediate satisfaction with salary predicted a lower likelihood to be able to continue working. CONCLUSION: Prevention of emotional exhaustion and promotion of a healthy social work climate may support both the willingness and ability to work until the age of 65 years. Copyright © 2012 by American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Background: Dairy intake may have beneficial effects with respect to becoming overweight, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (MS), although most of the available studies are cross-sectional and conducted among adults. The present study aimed to investigate whether dairy intake during adolescence and young adulthood protects against becoming overweight and (components of) MS at age 36years. Methods: Dairy intake was repeatedly measured between the ages of 13 and 36years among participants (n=374) of a Dutch prospective longitudinal cohort study. Being overweight and components of MS were examined at age 36years. A statistical method for longitudinal data, generalised estimating equations, was used to assess whether the time course of total dairy intake, high-fat and low-fat dairy was associated with being overweight and with (components of) MS. Results: The time course from age 13-36years for total dairy intake did not differ between overweight and non-overweight participants, nor for participants with and without MS at age 36years. Significant differences between groups were only observed at certain time points, mainly around the age of 21 and 27years. High-fat dairy intake during adolescence tended to be higher in subjects with lower weight, a lower body fat percentage, lower waist circumference and lower triglyceride concentrations at age 36years. In those having at least two risk factors for MS and high glycosylated haemoglobin, differences in dairy intake were in the opposite direction. Conclusions: These results do not support the hypothesis that dairy consumption protects against potentially becoming overweight and metabolic disturbances. © 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Study Design.: Cost of illness study. Objective.: To investigate the total costs of back pain in the Netherlands over the years 2002 to 2007. Summary of Background Data.: In 1991, the cost of back pain to the Dutch society was estimated at &OV0556;4.2 billion. In the last two decades, new laws regarding health insurance and sickness benefits and new guidelines for health care professionals have been introduced and may have affected the societal costs of back pain in the Netherlands. Methods.: We conducted a cost-of-illness study in which we gathered relevant available data from national registries, reports of research institutes, descriptive studies, and occupational health care authorities to estimate the total cost of back pain to the Dutch society for the years 2002 to 2007. Results.: The total costs of back pain decreased from &OV0556;4.3 billion in 2002 to &OV0556;3.5 billion in 2007. The share of these costs was about 0.9% of the gross national product (GNP) in 2002 and 0.6% of GNP in 2007. The ratio between direct and indirect costs did not change noticeably over the years, that is, 12% for direct and 88% for indirect costs. Conclusions.: The total societal costs of back pain have decreased since 1991 and also between 2002 and 2007. Although Dutch policy interventions to lower the indirect costs seem to be successful in the last decades, costs of back pain are still substantial, and indirect costs represent the majority of these costs. Policy interventions and implementation of cost-effective interventions focusing on return-to-work management for back pain in health care is important to further decrease the economic burden of back pain on society. Copyright © 2011 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

The aims of this study are 1) to analyse developmental trajectories of body fatness from adolescence into adulthood, thereby determining the number and characteristics of distinct body fatness trajectories, and 2) to relate these distinct subgroups to indicators of cardiovascular disease risk, revealing subgroups specifically at risk. This paper will illustrate in more detail the application of Latent Class Growth (Mixture) Modelling (LCGMM) on longitudinal, observational data. Data were obtained from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study, an ongoing observational study of apparently healthy participants (n=336). Participants were followed up from 13-42 years of age. Body Mass Index was used as a marker for body fatness and cardiovascular diseases (CVD)-risk factors included Mean Arterial Pressure and HDL-Cholesterol. LCGMM was used for the identification of developmental trajectories of body fatness, and linear regression analyses were used for the associations between the trajectories and CVD-risk. Analyses revealed three distinct trajectories; a "normative" trajectory (88.4%), a progressively overweight trajectory (4.5%) and a progressively overweight but stabilising trajectory (7.1%). Significant differences in CVD-risk between these trajectories appeared. These results show that body fatness development throughout life is heterogeneous, showing differences in CVD-risk. This paper also demonstrates that LCGMM is a promising technique to distinguish between subjects with different developmental trajectories.

Background: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome is increasing, especially in young individuals. Most of the previous studies that have investigated the association between dietary fibre intake and the metabolic syndrome are cross-sectional or of short duration, and their results are inconsistent. The present study investigated whether dietary fibre intake during adolescence has a protective effect on developing the metabolic syndrome as an adult.Methods: Data on dietary intake and metabolic syndrome components were derived from a healthy sample of 174 men and 194 women who were followed-up from the age of 13 years onwards in the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study. Data were analysed with use of generalised estimating equations and linear regression analyses.Results: The mean dietary fibre intake was 9.9 g/4.0 MJ (1000 kcal) during adolescence and 10.8 g/4.0 MJ (1000 kcal) at age 36 years. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome at age 36 years was 10.1%. No differences were found in the time-course of dietary fibre intake between subjects with and those without the metabolic syndrome or its components. Dietary fibre intake during adolescence was not related to the components of the metabolic syndrome at age 36 years, except for an inverse relationship with waist circumference, where a gram/4.0 MJ (1000 kcal) higher fibre intake was associated with a 0.44 cm smaller waist circumference (P = 0.03, 95% CI -0.85 to -0.04).Conclusions: The present study found no association between dietary fibre intake and the metabolic syndrome in young adults. High fibre intake, however, was inversely associated with waist circumference. @ 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation @ 2010 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

This study investigated a representative set of 39 parameters characterizing center of pressure movements (sway) in seated balancing, with the aims to determine test-retest reliability, to clarify the interrelations between these parameters, and to determine which parameters were related to balance loss in seated balancing. 331 subjects volunteered to perform three 30-s seated balancing trials in a single session. Ten subjects lost balance on all three trials, 34 lost balance on one or two trials. The test-retest reliability of postural sway parameters was poor with all intra-class correlations below 0.7 and below 0.4 for 9 parameters. Sway parameters were strongly intercorrelated and many parameters thus provide little added value. Parameters that had no intercorrelations above 0.7 comprised three conventional summary statistics of center of pressure (CoP) movements and 3 parameters reflecting the temporal structure of the CoP trajectories. None of the parameters was related with balance loss in univariate analyses, while multivariate models revealed that higher sway velocity and a lower short-term diffusion coefficient were related with less balance loss. This indicates that a multivariate assessment of CoP trajectories is necessary to characterize balancing performance. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The purpose of this study was to examine the concurrent validity of the Personal Activity Monitor (PAM) accelerometer relative to the Actigraph accelerometer using oxygen consumption as a reference, and to assess the test-retest reliability of the PAM. Thirty-two fit, normal weight adults (aged 21-54) performed two activities, treadmill walking and stair walking, while wearing the PAM, the Actigraph and the Cosmed K4b2. Correlation coefficients and agreement in absolute energy expenditure (EE) levels between PAM, Actigraph and Cosmed were calculated. The test-retest reliability was examined among 296 PAM's using a laboratory shaker. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV) were determined. Correlations for treadmill walking and stair walking, respectively, were r 2=0.95 and r2=0.65 for PAM with Actigraph, r 2=0.82 and r2=0.93 for PAM with VO2 and r 2=0.64 and 0.74 for Actigraph with VO2. Both the PAM and Actigraph underestimated EE during treadmill and stair walking by a substantial amount. The test-retest reliability of the PAM was high [ICC=0.80; 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.28;0.92) and intra-CV=1.5%]. The PAM and Actigraph accelerometer are comparable in assessing bodily movement during treadmill and stair walking. The PAM is a valid device to rank subjects in EE and can be useful in collecting objective data to monitor habitual physical activity. Copyright © 2009 The Authors.