Evidence of Better Psychological Profile in Working Population Meeting Current Physical Activity Recommendations

Abstract

Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) may improve health, productivity and safety and reduce absenteeism. However, although desirable, it is difficult to design tailored (and thus effective) WHP programs, particularly in small–medium companies, which rarely have access to sufficient economic and organizational resources. In this study, 1305 employees filled out an online anonymous lifestyle questionnaire hosted on the website of a non-profit organization, which aims to promote a healthy lifestyle among workers. The data show gender differences regarding stress perception and, in the working population meeting current physical activity recommendations (threshold = 600 MET·min/week), they point out the evidence of a better psychological and nutrition profile, a perception of better job performance, and improved sleep and health quality. Moreover, a unitary index (ranging from 0–100 (with higher scores being healthier)), combining self-reported metrics for diet, exercise and stress, was significantly higher in active employees (67.51 ± 12.46 vs. 39.84 ± 18.34, p < 0.001). The possibility of assessing individual lifestyle in an easy, timely and cost-effective manner, offers the opportunity to collect grouped data useful to drive tailored WHP policies and to have metric to quantify results of interventions. This potentiality may help in creating effective programs and in improving employees’ and companies’ motivation and attitude towards a feasible WHP.

Psychological Intervention Based on Mental Relaxation to Manage Stress in Female Junior Elite Soccer Team: Improvement in Cardiac Autonomic Control, Perception of Stress and Overall Health

“…In this paper, we do not address these important aspects in depth. For time and budget constraints, we limited our observation to the simple perception of stress, tiredness, stress related somatic symptoms, quality of life and quality of health, using an ad hoc questionnaire that we already employed in several studies [26,61,68]. This questionnaire was, for instance, capable of unveiling a relationship between higher stress perception and worse performance in elite rowers [69] and in Olympic athletes competing in skill-based disciplines [38]; of showing a reduction in stress perception in employees following a stress management program [26], in metabolic syndrome or oncologic patients following a lifestyle management program [67], in bariatric patients following prehabilitation and subsequently surgery [70].…”

Effects of Endurance Exercise Intensities on Autonomic and Metabolic Controls in Children with Obesity: A Feasibility Study Employing Online Exercise Training

“…Moreover, structured exercise improved the auxological and metabolic parameters. The increase in volume of structured exercise was obtained through a 12-week exercise training protocol delivered online by exercise physiologists [ 34 , 54 ], using an individualized exercise prescription that was progressively adapted as each individual reached their goal and was specifically designed to meet the needs of obese children and their families, while being economically and organizationally sustainable.…”

“…In addition, the possibility of starting exercise at home, thus avoiding interaction with peers while improving their physical performance, may result in an improvement of self-efficacy [ 67 ] and, consequently, motivate obese children to exercise in a different environment close to their peers. A fundamental characteristic of the employed protocol [ 34 ] was the balance between the possibility of being delivered online and tailoring the proposed modality/intensity of exercises to the child’s needs, preferences, and reached goals [ 54 ]. An individualized clinical assessment and exercise prescription was essential to the achievement of this goal, which required exercise physiologists to interact online with children, design enjoyable exercises, and adjust the program during the training period.…”

“…An ad hoc questionnaire was employed to quantify lifestyle [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ]: Nutrition was assessed using the American Heart Association Healthy Diet Score (AHA score) [ 8 ], taking into consideration fruit/vegetables, fish, sweetened beverages, whole grain, and sodium consumption (assessment of the latter was adapted to Italian eating habits) [ 55 ]. The lifestyle questionnaire inquired also about hours of sleep/day, hours of sedentariness/week, and perceptions of quality of sleep, health, and school performance (assessed using evaluation scales from 0 (‘worst quality’) to 10 (‘best quality’) for each measure).…”

Tailored exercise programmes for fibromyalgia: a clinical practical guide

“…-Lifestyle assessment Lifestyle factors are assessed using ad hoc questionnaires that cover areas like physical activity, nutrition, stress perception, alcohol consumption, smoking, and sleep (16,(59)(60)(61). Objective methods, such as wearable devices, may help to quantify physical activity as well as monitor training improvement or motivate adherence to the prescribed programme.…”