title: Obesity does not reduce maximum acceptable weights of lift.
abstract: The maximum acceptable weights of lift (MAWL) of obese and non-obese participants were empirically investigated. Three obesity levels were considered: non-obese (18.5 kg/m(2)< or= body mass index (BMI)<or=24.9 kg/m(2)), moderately obese (35 kg/m(2)<or=BMI<or=39.9 kg/m(2)) and extremely obese (BMI>or= 40 kg/m(2)). Ten male and 10 female participants were recruited for each obesity level. The participants determined their MAWL for 18 different lifting task conditions (six lifting frequencies x three lifting heights). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to determine the effects of obesity level, gender, lifting height, lifting frequency and their interactions on MAWL. Overall, the ANOVA results indicated that obesity does not reduce MAWL, and thus, suggested that the existing MAWL data can be used to accommodate both general and obese workers. However, further studies based on the biomechanical and physiological approaches are required to provide more complete understanding of obesity effects on lifting tolerance limits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Nuclear Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0072, USA.
authors.forename: Devender
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Woojin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Martin S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014891:Weight Lifting / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology