Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

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A socioecological framework for research on work and obesity in diverse urban transit operators based on gender, race, and ethnicity: BongKyoo Choi, Peter Schnall, Marnie Dobson, Haiou Yang, Dean Baker, YoungJu Seo; Ann Occup Environ Med 2017;29:15. Published online May 17, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-017-0171-2

Urban transit (bus and rail) operators, totaling nearly 700,000 persons, are one of the heaviest occupational groups in the United States (US). Little is known about occupational risk factors for weight gain and obesity and their interrelationship with health-related behaviors, particularly among female minority (African Americans and Hispanics) transit operators who are at greater risk for obesity. As a step towards developing successful obesity interventions among urban transit operators, this paper aims to present a new socioecological framework for studying working conditions, chronic strain, health-related behaviors, weight gain/obesity, and obesity disparity in diverse urban transit operators based on gender, race, and ethnicity. Our framework is a synthesis of several different theories and disciplines: the resource-work load model (work stress), occupational ergonomics, the theory of intersectionality, and worksite health promotion. The framework was developed utilizing an extensive literature review, results from our on-going research on obesity, input from focus groups conducted with Los Angeles transit operators as well as interviews and meetings with transit operator stakeholders (management, unions, and worksite transit wellness program), and ride-along observations. Our hypotheses highlighted in the framework (see Fig. 1) are that adverse working conditions, largely characterized as a combination of high demands and low resources, will increase the risk for weight gain/obesity among transit operators directly through chronic strain and hypothalamic dysfunction (hyper-and hypo-activations), and indirectly through health-related behaviors and injuries/chronic severe pain. We also hypothesize that the observed increase in adiposity among female minority operators is due to their greater exposure to adverse occupational and non-occupational conditions that reflect their intersecting social identities of lower social class and being a minority woman in the US. Our proposed framework could greatly facilitate future transit worksite obesity studies by clarifying the complex and important roles of adverse working conditions in the etiology of weight gain/obesity and obesity disparity among transit operators and other working populations.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Facilitators and barriers to achieving dietary and physical activity goals: focus group interviews with city bus drivers and counseling dietitians
Yongmin Jo, Suhyeun Cho, Young-Hee Han, Taisun Hyun
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition.2023; 28(5): 376. CrossRef
Primary Prevention of Weight Gain Among New Bus Operators
Ryan Olson, Sean P. M. Rice, Talya N. Bauer, Brad Wipfli, W. Kent Anger, Todd Bodner, Peter Graven, Leah S. Greenspan
Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine.2023; 65(2): 128. CrossRef
Bus Operators’ Body Weight Changes During Their First 2 Years of Work
Ryan Olson, Sean P.M. Rice, Layla R. Mansfield, Brad Wipfli, Todd Bodner, W. Kent Anger, Talya N. Bauer
Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine.2021; 63(12): 1093. CrossRef
Burden of tobacco, kola nut and alcohol consumption and its association with periodontal disease, potentially malignant lesions and quality of life among bus drivers, Lagos State, Nigeria
Afolabi Oyapero, Oyejoke Oyapero, Aliru Akinleye
Population Medicine.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Pilot test of an interactive obesity treatment approach among employed adults in a university medical billing office
Rachel G. Tabak, Jaime R. Strickland, Bridget Kirk, Ryan Colvin, Richard I. Stein, Hank Dart, Graham A. Colditz, Ann Marie Dale, Bradley A. Evanoff
Pilot and Feasibility Studies.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Obesity and Socioeconomic Disparities
Cecilia M. Jevitt
Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing.2019; 33(2): 126. CrossRef
Complejidad de la expresión de genes asociados a obesidad en el tejido adiposo humano
Alejandra Rodríguez, Carlos Echandía, Adalberto Sánchez, José María Satizábal, Julio César Montoya, Felipe García Vallejo
Revista Med.2019; 26(1): 14. CrossRef
The Key Role of Work in Population Health Inequities
Paul A. Landsbergis, BongKyoo Choi, Marnie Dobson, Grace Sembajwe, Craig Slatin, Linda Delp, C. Eduardo Siqueira, Peter Schnall, Sherry Baron
American Journal of Public Health.2018; 108(3): 296. CrossRef
Work stress and health problems of professional drivers: a hazardous formula for their safety outcomes
Sergio A. Useche, Boris Cendales, Luis Montoro, Cristina Esteban
PeerJ.2018; 6: e6249. CrossRef
Work organization, health, and obesity in urban transit operators: A qualitative study
Marnie Dobson, BongKyoo Choi, Peter L. Schnall
American Journal of Industrial Medicine.2017; 60(11): 991. CrossRef

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Research Article

Ambulatory heart rate of professional taxi drivers while driving without their typical psychosocial work stressors: a pilot study: BongKyoo Choi, SangJun Choi, JeeYeon Jeong, JiWon Lee, Shi Shu, Nu Yu, SangBaek Ko, Yifang Zhu; Ann Occup Environ Med 2016;28:54. Published online October 6, 2016; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-016-0139-7

Abstract PDF PubReader ePub

Background

Few studies have examined ambulatory cardiovascular physiological parameters of taxi drivers while driving in relation to their occupational hazards. This study aims to investigate and quantify the impact of worksite physical hazards as a whole on ambulatory heart rate of professional taxi drivers while driving without their typical worksite psychosocial stressors.

Methods

Ambulatory heart rate (HR_driving) of 13 non-smoking male taxi drivers (24 to 67 years old) while driving was continuously assessed on their 6-hour experimental on-road driving in Los Angeles. Percent maximum HR range (PMHR_driving) of the drivers while driving was estimated based on the individual HR_driving values and US adult population resting HR (HR_rest) reference data. For analyses, the HR_driving and PMHR_driving data were split and averaged into 5-min segments. Five physical hazards inside taxi cabs were also monitored while driving. Work stress and work hours on typical work days were self-reported.

Results

The means of the ambulatory 5-min HR_driving and PMHR_driving values of the 13 drivers were 80.5 bpm (11.2 bpm higher than their mean HR_rest) and 10.7 % (range, 5.7 to 19.9 %), respectively. The means were lower than the upper limits of ambulatory HR and PMHR for a sustainable 8-hour work (35 bpm above HR_rest and 30 % PMHR), although 15–27 % of the 5-min HR_driving and PMHR_driving values of one driver were higher than the limits. The levels of the five physical hazards among the drivers were modest: temperature (26.4 ± 3.0 °C), relative humidity (40.7 ± 10.4 %), PM_2.5 (21.5 ± 7.9 μg/m³), CO₂ (1,267.1 ± 580.0 ppm) and noise (69.7 ± 3.0 dBA). The drivers worked, on average, 72 h per week and more than half of them reported that their job were often stressful.

Conclusions

The impact of physical worksite hazards alone on ambulatory HR of professional taxi drivers in Los Angeles generally appeared to be minor. Future ambulatory heart rate studies including both physical and psychosocial hazards of professional taxi drivers are warranted.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Cardiovascular health status of taxi/for-hire vehicle drivers in the United States: A systematic review
Sheena Mirpuri, Kathryn Traub, Sara Romero, Marisol Hernandez, Francesca Gany
Work.2021; 69(3): 927. CrossRef
Lurking in plain sight: Hypertension awareness and treatment among New York City taxi/for‐hire vehicle drivers
Bharat Narang, Sheena Mirpuri, Soo Young Kim, Devika R. Jutagir, Francesca Gany
The Journal of Clinical Hypertension.2020; 22(6): 962. CrossRef

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