Comparing the Impact of Workplace Lifestyle Interventions: A 7-Month Study on Cardiovascular Health, Life Satisfaction and Quality of Life (October 2025)-Comparing the Impact of Workplace Lifestyle Interventions: A 7-Month Study on Cardiovascular Health, Life Satisfaction, and Quality of Life

Comparing the Impact of Workplace Lifestyle Interventions: A 7-Month Study on Cardiovascular Health, Life Satisfaction, and Quality of Life

Back to course

Pdf Summary

This 7-month nonrandomized controlled study evaluated the effects of three workplace interventions on cardiovascular risk factors, subjective well-being, and quality of life among 266 industry workers in Portugal. Participants self-selected into one of three groups: a multicomponent lifestyle intervention (LSI) combining active breaks, resistance exercise, and health education; an active breaks (ABs) plus health education group; or a health education (HE) only group.<br /><br />All three interventions resulted in significant reductions in diastolic blood pressure and daily sitting time, with no differences among groups. Life satisfaction improved significantly and similarly across interventions. However, only the LSI group showed a significant increase in moderate-intensity physical activity levels; the ABs and HE groups decreased or maintained their activity levels despite reductions in sedentary behavior. No significant changes occurred in systolic blood pressure or quality of life measures, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet remained stable and generally good in all groups.<br /><br />Baseline characteristics revealed most participants were overweight or obese, with prevalent cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking and hypertension. Blood pressure and cholesterol were mostly within normal ranges, possibly limiting the magnitude of improvements. Slight increases in body weight and BMI were observed in LSI and ABs groups, while waist circumference decreased slightly only in the ABs group.<br /><br />The findings suggest that while a multicomponent lifestyle program integrating exercise and education is effective in boosting moderate physical activity, simpler interventions like active breaks and health education alone can still reduce sitting time, lower diastolic blood pressure, and enhance life satisfaction. This is important for workplaces with limited resources or constraints, indicating that tailored, scalable health promotion initiatives can beneficially impact employee health and well-being.<br /><br />Limitations include the single-company setting, lack of randomization, and constraints from the COVID-19 pandemic, which may affect generalizability and introduce bias. Future research should consider randomized multicenter designs and broader metabolic biomarkers to confirm and extend these results.<br /><br />In conclusion, workplace interventions—even those streamlined to active breaks or education—can effectively improve cardiovascular risk factors and employee life satisfaction, with multicomponent lifestyle programs offering additional benefits in increasing physical activity.

Keywords

workplace interventions

cardiovascular risk factors

lifestyle intervention

active breaks

health education

physical activity

diastolic blood pressure

sedentary behavior

life satisfaction

employee well-being