Physical activity promotion as a strategic corporate priority to improve worker health and business performance

Background. The increasingly sedentary nature of work and its impact on health and productivity indicators demands the promotion of physical activity at the worksite. Purpose. This paper aims to present considerations for broad-scale application of corporate strategies designed to promote physical activity among employees and their families through employer-sponsored initiatives. Approach. The benefits of physical activity are multifold, including health and wellbeing and productivity related outcomes. The workplace setting may be leveraged to promote physical activity levels through frequent and sustained exposures to effective interventions that reach employees and, indirectly, their families. Furthermore, employers represent a powerful stakeholder group that should leverage its influence on health policy initiatives designed to create supportive environments inside the workplace as well as the broader community. Specific principles, recommendations for action, and considerations for the prioritization of initiatives are provided based on essential elements for comprehensive programs and health policy initiatives and in the context of a social-ecological model and supportive research. Conclusions. Physical activity promotion at the worksite should be an integrated initiative that measurably improves worker health and enhances business performance. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.