An Epidemiological Study to Assess Fatigue Patterns at Kitchen Workstation

摘要

Kitchen fatigue, according to scientific research, results from the endless retracing of steps and the back strain involved in continually bending, stooping, and stretching. Lifting and carrying heavy items or pushing and pullmg can be a major source of back pain, while forceful or repetitive activities and poor posture can be linked to upper limb injuries. This paper describes the results of a study done to assess the fatigue felt by women in existing kitchen workstation. An epidemiological approach was adopted wherein the respondents were investigated about the time spent, posture adopted and body part where fatigue was felt etc. Results revealed that about 82.5 per cent of the respondents spent 5 to 7 hours per day in the kitchen activities. Most of the activities were performed in standing and sitting posture and very few activities like sieving where squatting posture (38.75 per cent) was adopted by the respondents. While performing the various kitchen activities mostly fatigue was felt in forearm and wrist. The maximum respondents felt fatigue, in activities like grating (40.00 per cent), kneading (38.75 per cent), dish washing (37.50 per cent) and rolling (33.75 per cent).