Improvement of Health Gradient in Workers Who Participated in a Physical Training Program

Introduction
Although many exercise programs have been developed to improve workers’ well being, these programs are frequently not applicable to all work settings because of the expensive materials required for their implementation, and their lack of specificity in regards to adapting to each individual’s needs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of a simple, personalized, and inexpensive exercise program with Mexican workers’ health gradient.

Methods
In this quasi-experimental, prospective, longitudinal study, eleven healthy department store workers participated in a 10-week physical training program. The subjects encompassed both sexes, and ages ranged from 18 to 55. Anthropometrical measures and physiologic variables were obtained prior to participation in the program.

Results
After 10 weeks, subjects’ variables were remeasured. Because our data did not show a normal distribution, we used a non parametric method, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, to analyze our results. We found a significant increase in all variables.

Discussion
This study demonstrated that a 10-week exercise program was associated with the health gradient improvement of Mexican workers from a department store. Moreover, the model presented in this study can be used as an effective tool in occupational health promotion programs and as an instrument for workers’ health surveillance.