Is Your Work Making You Fat?

Everybody knows that on a very basic level, the only reason for gaining weight is that you’re taking in more calories than you’re burning.

But what are the reasons that someone might take in more calories than they’re burning? Could it have something to do with where they work?

A new study answered that question.

The researchers looked at a group of over 3,500 men and women, all aged 31 years old. They wanted to see if there was an association between obesity and various factors at work. They specifically evaluated the work environment as it related to physical strenuousness, work demands, overall stress, social support, and unhealthy behaviors such as stress-related eating/drinking, leisure-time physical inactivity, smoking, and high alcohol consumption.

Here’s what they found.

“Among men, high job demands and low worksite social support were independently associated with obesity. Among women, stress-related eating/drinking and physical inactivity seemed to promote obesity.”

So yes. It does look like where you work can have an impact on whether you eat your stress or not. If you have a high stress work environment, it’s all the more reason to be extra careful about how you eat and how you handle the work stress.

I think the best ways to deal with stress are to get to bed early and to exercise regularly.

Yours for better health,

Frank Shallenberger, MD