title: Farmers, mechanized work, and links to obesity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In a contemporary sample of Saskatchewan farm people, to relate the degree of mechanized and also non-mechanized farm work to the occurrence of being overweight or obese. Secondarily to determine the prevalence of being overweight or obese, and to compare these prevalence levels with those reported for general populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analyses of baseline survey data provided for 2849 individuals (2619 adults) from 1216 Saskatchewan farms in 2013. Age/sex-standardized prevalence levels of overweight and obesity were compared between the farm cohort and general populations. Durations of specific types of work were described by metabolic equivalent scoring. Multi-level binomial regression was used to study relations between mechanized and also non-mechanized farm work with overweight and obesity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 65.1% of the adult farm cohort was overweight (39.6%) or obese (25.5%), with prevalence levels that exceeded estimated norms for Canada but not the province of Saskatchewan. Increases in risks for obesity were related to higher amounts of mechanized but not non-mechanized farm work.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the mechanization of farm work has obvious benefits in terms of productivity, its potential effects on risks for overweight and obesity must be recognized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6. Electronic address: will.pickett@queensu.ca.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pickett
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 0W8, Canada.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.affiliation: Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 0W8, Canada.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dosman
authors.affiliation: Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 0W8, Canada.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trask
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Brison
authors.affiliation: Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 0W8, Canada.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hagel
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6; School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, K7L 3N6.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Janssen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000383:Agriculture / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012525:Saskatchewan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Agriculture; Epidemiology; Farming; Machinery; Obesity; Occupational health