Diet and activity patterns of male and female co-workers: Should worksite health promotion programs assume homogeneity?

Worksite health promotion programs address the health education needs of the average employe. Anthropometric measurements and 24h diet and activity diaries collected from coworkers reveal that lifestyle and subsequently, health education needs of men and women working for the same employer, in the same environment and performing similar tasks, may be different. In this study, males were marginally overweight and obese; females were within recommended limits. Although job related workloads were comparable, females were more active (24hEE/FFM) outside the work place. Females spent more time engaged in moderate weight-bearing domestic activities than did males. These results question the effectiveness of worksite health promotion program which ignore the different health education needs of male and female employees.