The Relationships between Work Stress and Obesity: A Job demand - control - support perspective

International audienceThis study relies on the demand - control - support model (DC/S) to explore the association between job characteristics (job demands, control and social support) and overweight/obesity, and the mediating role of perceived work stress. Respondents were 4873 men and 1676 women, apparently healthy employees of a French industrial company. Obesity was assessed by the Body Mass Index (BMI). The effects of age, gender, chronic diseases and active lifestyle were controlled in all analyses. Our main finding is that employees' BMI was linked to high job demands and that this relationship is even stronger for those employees who have little control over their work. On the other hand, and contrary to our expectations, the relationship between BMI and job demands was not reduced when employees were supported by their supervisor. This study has theoretical, managerial and public health implication