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The relationship between overweight and obesity, and sick leave: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective:

To investigate the relationship between overweight and obesity and sick leave.

Design:

Systematic, qualitative review.

Literature search:

A search in diverse databases was performed. Studies were considered as relevant if they were longitudinal in design and investigated the relationship between overweight and obesity and sick leave.

Data extraction:

The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated with a quality criteria list. To draw conclusions, a best-evidence synthesis was applied.

Results:

Thirteen studies were included. Four out of seven found overweight to be a predictor of long-term sick leave, whereas the remaining three showed a positive trend, but did not observe significance. Of the five studies investigating the relationship between overweight and short-term sick leave, inconsistent results were shown. Seven out of eight studies investigating the relationship with long-term sick leave found obesity as a significant predictor of long-term sick leave. In contrast, there were inconsistent results between the five studies examining the relationship between obesity and short spells of sick leave.

Conclusions:

Although this review found inconclusive evidence for a relationship between overweight and sick leave, a clear trend was discerned in that overweight was a predictor of especially long spells (>7 days) of sick leave. As regards obesity, there was strong evidence for a positive relationship with sick leave because of the consistent finding that obesity was a significant predictor of long-term sick leave.

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Correspondence to K I Proper.

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van Duijvenbode, D., Hoozemans, M., van Poppel, M. et al. The relationship between overweight and obesity, and sick leave: a systematic review. Int J Obes 33, 807–816 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2009.121

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2009.121

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