The German population is becoming ever heavier, a trend that also affects the German workplace. Fifteen percent of children and teenagers are overweight, while 4—8 % are obese (Federal Centre for Health Education — BZgA 2007). Weight problems increase with advancing age: some 65 % of adult men and 50 % of adult women are overweight (Robert Koch Institute 2005). The proportion of the population which is severely overweight has grown steadily in recent years, making workplace obesity prevention efforts ever more important. The Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) has targeted this problem with the “IN FORM” campaign, a nationwide initiative to promote exercise and healthy eating which began in 2008. This initiative served as the inspiration for the new occupational health offering described in this article, which was conducted at a Federal Ministry and harnessed social group dynamics to strengthen interventions for overweight employees, which had previously been tailored only to individuals.
