Erasmus plus - Stretching and Strengthening at Work interact

Stretching and Strengthening at Work

Convenient

Short - term

Simple

Spec ific

Figure 4 | Favorable features of work-related exercise program

The WHO’s European Policy Framework and Strategy for the 21st century prioritizes investing in health promotion programs by utilizing existing social networks such as the one in the workplace (WHO Regional Committee for Europe , 2013)). As workers generally spend more time in the workplace than any other location, the workplace can have a direct impact on workers’ physical, mental, economic and social health. The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion has defined workplace health promotion in their Luxembourg Declaration as the combined efforts of employers, employees and society to improve the health and wellbeing of people at work ( ENWHP , 2007). The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work find that well-implemented workplace health promotion can lead to improved working environment and a decrease in absenteeism (EU- EASHW , 2020), and therefore recommend that policies continue to emphasize the importance of workplace health promotion. Physical activity interventions at workplace: open questions European Commission Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture recently published a report containing a literature review and best practice case studies on physical activity at the workplace ( ECORYS, 2017). The report concluded that there is a large and well-developed body of knowledge on the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace physical activities ( Figure 5 ) yet there has been limited data on the effects of specific types of exercise interventions (e.g. stretching, muscle strength exercises) on specific groups of employees, including inactive individuals. Evidence on traditional interventions (e.g. walking initiatives, active travel) is more developed and robust while no studies evaluated the applicability of stretching or muscular strength exercise on physical activity behavior, health-related quality of life, healthy lifestyle profiles, or health-related physical fitness in working population.

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