By Liz Sheehan Castro and Kristina Kalolo, FALPC Intern
In 2012 the Mass Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) along with the Boston Worker’s Alliance, and the Center for the Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace released a report detailing the linkages between the working conditions in low-wage jobs and obesity. This relationship is largely ignored in academic literature and research. With 3.8 million workers at or below the federal minimum wage, this report argues the critical impact of working conditions on weight for low-income workers.
Over one-third of adults in the United States are obese. Individuals who are paid low wages experience disproportionate rates of overweight and obesity, and in particular low-income Black and Latino communities experience the highest rates. Traditional interventions aiming to increase physical activity often focus on individual behaviors rather than on structural factors such as the conditions and environment in the workplace.
Working long hours or night shifts reduces quality of sleep, which often leads to exhaustion and chronic health issues. These work schedules also reduce the time that individuals are able to spend with their families and restricts healthy behaviors. Stress and lack of time not only inhibit physical activity but also often lead to the consumption of fast food and calorie-dense convenience foods. 
Workers who participated in the study (92 Boston area workers in all) also cited illnesses and work-related injuries as factors that can lead to increased weight. Many workers in low-wage jobs also have few breaks, often for only 15 minutes at a time, or breaks come irregularly. In addition the food environment at these workplaces is usually unhealthy, and there’s limited (if any) place to store and heat-up food brought from home. In addition, women who work in these low paying jobs often experience the additional burden of caring for their families before and/or after work and feel they have no time or energy to add physical activity and exercise to their days.
Workers along with the writers of this report developed a list of recommendations for creating structural change.
RECOMMENDATIONS (the bullet points in bold and italic are our additions to the recommendations)
For Employers:
- Pay a Living Wage
- Allow and support communication of sufficient time for meals and breaks
- Provide clean space for eating with functional equipment
- Only allow moderate workloads that do not cause excessive fatigue or injury
- Implement health and safety programs
- Schedule workers in ways that promotes healthy living
- Identify and eliminate bullying and sexual harassment
- Select health coverage and services that are sensitive to low-wage worker’s needs
- Establish worker-management committees for health, safety, and wellness
For Government and Public Policy-Makers:
- Make the Minimum Wage and Living Wage
- Address work conditions as part of wellness programs
- Include recommendations for addressing work conditions that affect health
- Occupational health experts in obesity reduction councils
- Increased funding for further research
- Incorporate relevant information in Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey
- Develop state-specific BRFSS module to collect additional information
For Insurance Companies:
- Insurance rate reduction programs for employers that improve workplace health
- Track participation in Worksite Health Promotion by job type
For Funders:
- Increase funding for relevant intervention research
- Promote funding for initiatives that improves healthy working conditions
For Unions and Worker Groups:
- Educate workers on impact of working conditions on weight
- Establish union health and safety committees
In order to address obesity in lower-wage workers, programs must include the work environment as the starting point. This means that scheduling, work organization, physical demands, and stressors need to be carefully considered and dealt with. Additionally, there is a need for policies that regulate meal times and monitor eating facility space, cleanliness, and equipment. These fundamental worker’s rights need to be implemented through strong health and safety protections.
