The obesity as a musculoskeletal risk factor in vertical handling loads

Abstract

The improvement of social conditions increased the number of individuals with an unhealthy weight. Obviously, obese people represent a significant fraction of the working population. However, relatively to the effect of obesity on the ability to work only a few parameters have been studied, which also involve some controversy. In the occupational context, the manual handling tasks, including lifting and/or lowering loads, are common and produce significant musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). For these reasons, the main objective of the proposed study is to analyze the obesity as a potential risk factor for the development of MSD related to these tasks. With this purpose, psychophysical and biomechanical data from individuals with different body compositions will be collected. Hopefully, this work will result in an important output for increasing the knowledge of the impact of obesity for the MSD risk and to help in the construction of workplaces more appropriate to obese workers.