title: The association between BMI and haemoglobin and work productivity among Indonesian female factory workers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and work productivity in Indonesian female industrial workers engaged in cigarette rolling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized-stratified, cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A clove cigarette factory in Central Java Province, Indonesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two-hundred and thirty female cigarette-rollers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anthropometric variables (height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference, BMI), body composition (lean body mass and fat mass from skinfolds thicknesses), Hb, work productivity (cigarettes/hour) were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 230 selected subjects 40.4% were anaemic and 41.3% had BMI < 18.5. Average production was 620 +/- 86 cigarettes/h. Productivity was positively correlated with work experience (r = 0.214, P < 0.01), lean body mass (r = 0.183, P < 0.01), height (r = 0.150, P < 0.05), Hb (r = 0.141, P < 0.05), and arm muscle area (r = 0.120, P < 0.05). Anaemic subjects produced 4.9% less (P < 0.01) than the non-anaemic ones. No linear relationship existed between BMI and productivity, but subjects with a BMI < 18.5, or < 17.0, produced respectively 5.1% (P < 0.05) and 6.8% (P <0.05) less than subjects with BMI between 18.5-22.5.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Work productivity of persons with low BMI and Hb may be reduced. However, BMI was not a good screening tool to detect low producers. When using BMI < 18.5 and a production < 550 cigarettes/h as cut-offs sensitivity (64.7%) and specificity (55.5%) were low.
authors.affiliation: Regional SEAMEO-TROPMED Center for Community Nutrition, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Untoro
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schultink
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sediaoetama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004526:Efficiency; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D007221:Industry; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D014026:Nicotiana
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins