Nearly half of the workforce in Indian industries, especially in urban areas, is overweight, and 27 per cent suffer from hypertension.

These revelations came across in a study conducted by the World Economic Forum and the World Health Organisation to gauge workplace health problems.

The survey showed that 27 per cent of the workforce suffered from hypertension, 10.1 per cent suffer from diabetes and 47 per cent were overweight.

This was particularly evident in industries located in highly urbanised areas, the study said.

The study recommends imparting health education to prevent cardiovascular diseases and assess the impact of health education on controlling these diseases.

The surveillance started with a baseline survey of more than 35,000 employees and their family members in 10 different industries in India in the age group of 10-69 years and a detailed risk factor survey of 20,000 randomly selected individuals.

The survey was part of a report 'Preventing communicable diseases in the workplace through diet and physical activity,' which was presented to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, on Monday.

The document was the outcome of an event jointly organised by the WHO and the WEF and summarises the current evidence available in addressing different dimensions of the workplace as a key setting for interventions designed to prevent non-communicable diseases through diet and physical activity.

The programme largely focused on changing unhealthy behaviour and promoting healthy behaviour related to cardiovascular health, based on existing scientific evidences in the target community.

In addition it aimed to provide evidence-based care to those with CVDs and diabetes.

The programme addressed physical activity, blood pressure, intake of fruits and vegetables, diabetes, BMI and heart-healthy life, using cognitive theory and the health belief model.

Catchy and simple messages in regional languages were disseminated to the target population through different communication strategies.

Regular health education classes, film shows, seminars, group discussions and question and answer sessions were conducted independently at each site.

All high-risk individuals were referred to a healthcare facility for follow-up. Individual and group counselling sessions on diet, tobacco use and physical activity were also conducted for those with established risk factors.

Evaluation at the end of five years found significant reductions in diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol in the intervention group compared with the control group.

• Lifestyle diseases may cost India $237 billion by 2015