The associations with work stress, social support and overweight/obesity among hospital nurses: A cross-sectional study

Background: Nurses with obesity will lead to health problems as well as their high turnover rate and low retention rate. Objectives: This study explored the associations with female nurses' work stress, social support and overweight/obesity, and tried to find the predictors of the female nurses' overweight/obesity. Methods: The study applied a cross-sectional and correlational design. Findings: The results of this study showed that "regular exercise frequency lower than or equal to 2 days a week", "rotating night shifts greater than or equal to 4 times a month", "nursing working hours higher than 44 hours a week", "high work stress", and "low social support" were the main predictors of "overweight/ obesity". Conclusions: Conducting workshops were recommended to nurse managers to motivate female nurses' exercise frequency, remind female nurses of keeping a healthy diet during night shifts, and provide female nurses with some relaxing skills to release their work stress.