A case study identifying disease risk factor prevalence in government office workers in Queensland, Australia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify health and physical activity status and prevalence of chronic diseases risk factors in a sample of Government office employees. Design/methodology/approach - Quantitative assessment of various health and physical activity measures including blood pressure, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, cholesterol, blood glucose and physical activity in adult male (n = 66; age = 42 +/- 9 years) and female (n = 262; age = 40 +/- 10 years) Government office employees located in metropolitan, rural and remote areas of central and northern Queensland. Findings - It was found that 54 per cent of females and 77 per cent of males were classified as overweight or obese, while 38 per cent of all participants did not participate in sufficient weekly physical activity. Metropolitan females reported significantly higher blood glucose levels and diastolic blood pressure but significantly lower waist-to-hip ratio than rural and remote females. Research limitations/implications - There was uneven sampling across geographical locations, however the sample size of each group was largely indicative of the workforce in each location. Practical implications - There is a large prevalence of chronic disease risk factors in male and female Government office employees working throughout metropolitan, rural and remote areas of central and northern Queensland. Workplace personnel should work to improve the health and physical activity status of employees, as this may have positive effects on workplace participation and productivity. Originality/value - This study provides insight into the prevalence of chronic disease risk factors in Government office workers undertaking similar work duties across a variety of geographical locations, and provides suggestions for workplace interventions.