Obesity is a major health problem in the world. It has been on the rise in the United States and many other countries. It also gives rise to other problems such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

A review study by University of Cincinnati researchers has established a new finding on weigh loss. It has found that people are more prone to weight loss when they participate in programs, launched by their work site.

Dr. Michael Benedict, co-author of the report, examined 11 studies published since 1994. He found that worksite-based programs are more effective to loss weight. People who participated in program have lost an average of 2.2 pounds to almost 14 pounds while non-participants have observed weight between 1.5 pounds to a gain of 1.1 pounds. Thus work place can play a vital role to avoid obesity.

Some companies have sponsored health related programs for their employees to loss weight and stay fit. Such programs have shown good results. Dr. Michael Benedict, however, believes that relatively few studies have assessed how well these programs work for weight loss.

The research does not show the effect of such company sponsored programs on the revenue and productivity of their employees. Benedict said in a telephone interview that the programs are helpful for at least short-term and employees should be encouraged to participate in weight loss programs. Work-site health interventions might benefit employers financially within only a few years.  The employees can get rid of other health related problems like hypertension by joining work place sponsored programs. Researcher added that the report is still incomplete as it does not draw any conclusion on weight loss maintenance.