Relation Between Quality of Life and Body Mass Index (BMI) in Healthy Workers

Abstract

The study is aimed at identifying the relationship between Quality of Life (QoL) established by the Short-Form Health Survey SF36 and Body Mass Index (BMI) in a sample of workers. A total of 140 workers participated, 55 men (37,3 ± 8,2 years) and 85 women (38,1 ± 7,7 years). Men with a “Normal” BMI, show higher scores in the majority of dimensions evaluated by SF36 in respect to those who have an “Overweight” BMI, except in Physical Functioning and Physical Role. Likewise, women with a “Normal” BMI have higher scores in most of the dimensions evaluated by SF36, with the exception of General Health. The results suggest that “Normal” BMI values are related to higher scores in SF36; that is, if the BMI is within the “Normal” range in a population of workers, their perception of the Quality of Life will be better.