Fitness for Work


Book Description

'Fitness for Work' provides information and guidance on the effects of medical conditions on employment and working capability. Every significant medical problem is covered, including the employment potential and assessment of anyone with a disability. Legal and ethical aspects are also addressed.




Workplace Health


Book Description

Given the growing awareness of the negative effects of work-related stress, Many Businesses Are Focusing On Active Health Promotion To Enhance employee health, well-being and performance. This text aims to review the state of the art and offer ideas and suggestions for how stress-related employee health problems can be combated through the provision of effective fitness and exercise programmes.




Implementing Strategies to Enhance Public Health Surveillance of Physical Activity in the United States


Book Description

Physical activity has far-reaching benefits for physical, mental, emotional, and social health and well-being for all segments of the population. Despite these documented health benefits and previous efforts to promote physical activity in the U.S. population, most Americans do not meet current public health guidelines for physical activity. Surveillance in public health is the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of outcome-specific data, which can then be used for planning, implementation and evaluation of public health practice. Surveillance of physical activity is a core public health function that is necessary for monitoring population engagement in physical activity, including participation in physical activity initiatives. Surveillance activities are guided by standard protocols and are used to establish baseline data and to track implementation and evaluation of interventions, programs, and policies that aim to increase physical activity. However, physical activity is challenging to assess because it is a complex and multidimensional behavior that varies by type, intensity, setting, motives, and environmental and social influences. The lack of surveillance systems to assess both physical activity behaviors (including walking) and physical activity environments (such as the walkability of communities) is a critical gap. Implementing Strategies to Enhance Public Health Surveillance of Physical Activity in the United States develops strategies that support the implementation of recommended actions to improve national physical activity surveillance. This report also examines and builds upon existing recommended actions.




Health and Fitness in the Workplace


Book Description

Bringing together some of the most respected leaders from industry, academe, and government, this volume deals with the growing field of health education in the workplace. Examining the essential components of health education programs, Health and Fitness in the Workplace addresses critical issues relating to their implementation, evaluation, and promotion. This excellent collection of original essays demonstrates that when industry incorporates health programs into the work environment such programs directly result in the well-being of employees, in addition to low absenteeism, high morale, and low insurance costs.




Wellness at Work


Book Description







Fitness For Work


Book Description

The fourth edition of this established book provides comprehensive information and practical guidance on the effects of medical conditions on employment and working capability. Every significant medical problem is covered, including the employment potential and assessment of anyone with a disability. Legal and ethical aspects are also addressed.




Corporate Wellness Programs


Book Description

øCorporate Wellness Programs offers contributions from international experts, examining the planning, implementation and evaluation of wellness initiatives in organizations, and offering guidance on how to introduce these programs in to the workplace.




Hard Work


Book Description

Hard Work: Defining Physical Work Performance Requirements focuses on physically demanding occupations that require strength and stamina, such as law enforcement, structural and wildland firefighting, mining, forestry, and the military. It is the first book to examine the relationship of recruitment practices, physical training, and physical evaluation to the intricate environment of corporations, labor organizations, the legal system, and employment rights. Hard Work assists readers in making intelligent and informed decisions resulting in a safer, healthier, and more productive work force. Authors Brian Sharkey and Paul Davis have spent more than 70 years combined researching worker performance in physically demanding professions. Hard Work brings their perspective as exercise scientists to an examination of these factors: -Work requirements and capacity for physically demanding jobs -Physical characteristics of the "athlete-worker," including aerobic and muscular fitness -Test development, validation, and utilization in employee selection -Employee health and job-related fitness -Environmental factors affecting employee performance, such as heat, cold, and altitude -Respiratory protection and lifting guidelines -Legal aspects of employment, consequences of legal decisions, and a proposed alternative to litigation By using case studies and real-life examples of tests and programs, the authors teach readers how to evaluate recruits and maintain employee health and safety. The book also includes nine appendixes offering valuable perspectives on testing, job-related fitness, policies, procedures, and performance assessment. Hard Work: Defining Physical Work Performance Requirements is organized into five parts. Part I begins with definitions of the physically demanding occupation and characteristics of workers available for employment. The legal aspects of employment are also considered, including reference to age, gender, race, and disability. Part II examines the value of initial and periodic evaluations, the test development process, and issues related to testing. Additionally, part II contains an examination of the effects of court decisions and labor unions on the evaluation processes of both new and incumbent employees. Part III discusses implementation of recruit testing designed to determine those individuals who can and cannot perform the job. The inherent challenges in shifting from recruit testing to periodic tests for incumbents are described, and ways to evaluate the costs and benefits of testing and training programs are examined. In part IV, the values and limits of medical examinations and employee wellness programs are considered. Part IV also discusses work physiology and its relationship to performance and presents the job-related physical fitness program as the essential element required for preserving career-long performance and health. Part V discusses employee performance in extreme environments, respiratory protection devices and their impact on the worker, and guidelines designed to reduce the risk of back injuries. It concludes with an examination of legal issues and a proposed alternative to litigation using a collective approach that avoids confrontation and biased testimony and saves taxpayer money. Hard Work: Defining Physical Work Performance Requirements suggests how workers could benefit by working up to job requirements while maintaining their health, safety, and job performance. This unique text seeks to bring about a paradigm shift wherein workers are viewed as occupational athletes who, aided by effective recruitment, testing, and training, receive the necessary support to help them excel in their physically demanding workplace.




Instant Recess


Book Description

"Toni Yancey''s book is a terrific tool as we work together to promote healthy and active lifestyles."_Bill Clinton "Instant Recess is a call to all of us to get up and move. Part personal memoir, part public health manifesto, and part poetry, Yancey''s warmth and enthusiasm shine through this book. I''m betting that she can convince anyone that moving more is not only good for health, but easy and lots of fun to do."_Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat "In Instant Recess, Dr. Yancey provides the tools to get America moving, in a very accessible style with the scientific research to back it up. Her call to incorporate short exercise breaks into routine, daily activities is one step that can create a true wellness society."_Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman, Senate HELP Committee "Dr. Toni (Antronette) Yancey has influenced and impacted community health and fitness in a number of profound ways! Her book is a must read for anyone interested in living a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life. Recently, at the First AME Church of Los Angeles, we incorporated a quick but effective fitness interlude into all three of our Sunday worship services. The enthusiastic response from our congregation was tremendous! Thank you, Dr. Yancey, for waking us up to the dangers of our sedentary lives and for awakening our desire to get into better physical shape."_Rev. Dr. John & Denise Hunter, Pastor and First Lady of First AME Church of Los Angeles, the White House-designated local lead agency for Michelle Obama''s Let''s Move LA "Instant Recess is a necessary part of a complex solution to our society''s epidemic of inactivity. It can work equally well in the corporate boardroom, school classroom, or for fans at a sporting event for that matter. It is a great place to start if we don''t want to leave anyone behind. I''m all for breaking our national inertia with a musical beat and a smile on our faces."_Dave Winfield, National Baseball Hall of Fame 2001, Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor, San Diego Padres "Dr. Yancey writes on a topic about which she is both passionate and knowledgeable. Doable in just about any setting, Instant Recess could get America moving again."_David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., 16th Surgeon General of the United States "Instant Recess is an excellent, easy to read, informative book describing how we must all change our lifestyle patterns and incorporate activity into our day. Yancey poignantly shows why ''instant recesses'' are needed by corporate Americans, educators, public health and medical professionals. This isn''t just a simple how-to book, but also a how-come."_Francine Kaufman, Head of the Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles "For the average person who continues to yo-yo between the hype of miracle weight loss gimmicks and the allure of fast food franchises, Instant Recess offers an easy and free solution to creating a healthier lifestyle."_Sharon Baucom, Medical Director of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for the State of Maryland "A thoughtful and innovative approach to community-wide physical activity from a lay person''s perspective. This book is well grounded in scientific evidence that is also contextualized in simple examples and in real life experiences people will be able to relate to."_Adrian Bauman, University of Sydney "I''ve seen everyone from curmudgeonly researchers and uptight bureaucrats to former elite athletes to avowed non-exercisers sucked in by the warm, inclusive energy and ease of her approach to getting people physically active. Most are smiling, some outright laughing as they rediscover the joy of moving. Thankfully, Toni captures the essence of that joy in her book, along with the practical guidance necessary to help anyone start making physical activity a part of their life and their community again."_Mark Fenton, PBS television host and author of The Complete Guide to Walking for Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness "I read Instant Recess and couldn_t help but jump for joy. Dr. Yancey_s got the recipe for success to help turn around the epidemic of inactivity in our country. Finally we have a book that shows Americans how to build that strong base of fitness, 10 minutes of hip hopping at a time. Now, if you_ll excuse me. It_s time for me to take my Instant Recess."_Pam Peeke MD, MPH, FACP, author of Body for Life for Women, Chief Medical Correspondent for Nutrition and Fitness, Discovery Health TV "Through the San Diego Padres organization we''ve worked with Dr. Toni Yancey for nearly 4 years on various healthy eating and fitness related projects ... Dr. Yancey is an educated, dynamic, trusted and respected colleague who has a thorough knowledge of public health issues. Her knowledge, advocacy and connection to community service organizations across the country has been key. She''s recruited a great number of them to enter the fight against childhood obesity by offering a wide variety of active lifestyles options. Influencing America to move towards healthy eating, better nutrition, and into her activity routine called Instant Recess is a significant and continuous task _ It''s a pleasure working with this former collegiate athlete, Ph.D. and public servant. We need more people like Dr. Toni Yancey combatting this nationwide health crisis."_David Winfield, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, and Co-Director at UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity