Chronic job stress fuels obesity--study

According to experts, chronic job stress contributes largely to lack of exercise, poor eating habits, and sedentary lifestyle which in turn fuel the obesity epidemic.

Another interesting aspect uncovered was that gorging on healthy diet rich in vegetables and fruits helped only slightly to beat the chronic stress at the workplace.

The study suggests that physical activity is the only option to deal with stress and keep obesity at bay.

Link between job stress and obesity assessed
In a bid to determine the association between stress at work and obesity, the researchers observed 2,782 employees at a large manufacturing facility in upstate New York.

Nearly three quarters of the volunteers were overweight or obese, white, middle-aged, highly educated, relatively well paid (earning more than $60,000 annually) and had worked for nearly 22 years at the company.

All the participants were questioned in detail about their psychosocial work conditions.

Findings of the study
The researchers discovered that the employers may have a hand in the dismal state of affairs.
Most employees ended up binging on some of the unhealthiest foods during the recession when lay-offs and tensions were at its peak.

Moreover, workers refrained from physical activity during lunch breaks fearing repercussions about leaving their desks for too long, while some skipped lunch altogether.

Additionally, some also confessed to “stress eating” and being burned out from “doing the work of five people”.

The researchers noted that many employees, after a day spent in stressful conditions closeted in meetings or glued to the computers, longed to go home and "veg out" while watching TV.

The employees who watched TV for two or more hours daily were 77 percent more likely to be obese, while those who spent over four hours in front of the idiot box increased their odds of being obese by 150 percent.

Lead author Dr. Diana Fernandez, an epidemiologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center Department of Community and Preventative Medicine stated, “We are not sure why TV is so closely associated with being overweight in our sample group of people. Other studies have shown that adults tend to eat more fatty foods while watching TV. But this requires more investigation.”

Implications of the study
The results of the study highlight the need for employers to promote wellness programs for workers, focusing on how to keep employees healthy.

Also they should employ measures to minimize stress of their workers.

Fernandez said, "In a poor economy, companies should take care of the people who survive layoffs and end up staying in stressful jobs.

"It is important to focus on strengthening wellness programs to provide good nutrition, ways to deal with job demands, and more opportunities for physical activity that are built into the regular workday without penalty."

The findings were published in the journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.