Exercise mediates the effect of job control on body mass index (BMI)

Previous research has examined how job control impacts either health behaviors or outcomes. This study examines the interaction of job control and job demands on body mass index (BMI) as mediated by exercise to test the physical activity mediated Demand-Control model (pamDC). We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from 315 participants within the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS 1) dataset to explore this relationship. As hypothesized, after controlling for age, sex, and work hours, job control is associated with more frequent exercise, which is linked to a lower BMI. However, this link was stable regardless of the level of demands. These findings provide a basis to understand the intertwined nature of one’s work and health. Future research may investigate this relationship from an experimental approach to better determine causality. Practically, these findings suggest that workplaces ought to provide employees with more job control which may enable them to engage in healthy behaviors (e.g., physical activity) that can impact key health outcomes such as BMI.