Obesity and the risk for occupational injuries: A literature review

Obesity has been associated with the increased risk of acquiring adverse health conditions and often overlooked is the direct influence that obesity has on physical limitations, fatigue and the risk for occupational injuries. The purpose of this review study was to examine the literature on the impact that obesity has as a risk factor for occupational injury to identify the associations between Body Mass Index (BMI) categories and non-fatal traumatic occupational injuries. Peer-reviewed literature was searched for studies on the risk of overweight and obesity on non-fatal traumatic occupational injuries. The initial literature search was conducted using electronic databases and the systematic search strategy yielded 308 articles. Eleven studies that investigated Body Mass Index (BMI) as a risk factor for occupational injury were further examined. Although there was diversity among the industries represented in these studies, there appears to be a strong association between obesity and risk for occupational injury such as fall-related injuries, lower extremity injuries, and sprains, strains & dislocations. The findings indicated that obese persons are significantly more likely to have had an occupational injury than their normal weight counterparts. Research also showed that the increased costs associated with occupational injuries, workers’ compensation claims and obesity. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms of obesity related injuries and how obesity interacts with other occupational hazards.