Physiological and subjective assessment of food grain handling workers in West Godavari district, India.

There are many rice mills and food grain depots where a large number of workers are engaged for processing paddy and rice, storage and distribution. Lifting, carrying and depositing sacs of food grain are the major jobs carried out by these workers. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the workers with respect to their nutritional status, workload, energy expenditure and musculoskeletal pain or discomfort resulting out of work practice. Average peak heart rate of the depot and rice mill workers suggested the workload as moderate to very heavy. Their average energy expenditure values also indicated the workload as moderate to heavy. Subjective assessment of the workers showed the workload as heavy for 60.7% depot workers and 23.1% rice mill workers. Musculoskeletal pain or discomfort was maximally reported in knee by 59% depot workers whereas low back and knee was reported by 61.5% rice mill workers. Besides the weight of the sac, awkward postures like bending and twisting of trunk adopted frequently causes the problem. Further studies and rationalization of work method may improve the health and safety of the workers.