Longer working hours lead to weight gain

New research from the United States (US) shows that people who work for longer are more likely to be obese.

Studies have already highlighted thenegative effects that obesity can haveon an person’s employment prospects.Susan L. Averettnotes that obese people areless likely to be employedthan non-obese people, and earnlower wageswhen they do find employment.

然而,某些工作可能导致每个son’s weight gain.Researchby theUS Census Bureaushows that for men innon-strenuous jobs, such as office-based jobs, ten additional working hours per week correlate with a body-mass index (BMI) increase of 0.2% on average.

These extra hours for women in non-strenuous jobs correlate with a 0.4% BMI increase on average.

Conversely, people who work for longer in jobs which require somephysical exertionsee no increase in their BMI.

This trend may be contributing to theoverall rise in obesityin the US. Whereas 50% of American jobs in 1960 were considered strenuous, only 20% of jobs today require some extended form of physical activity.

As higher obesity levels lead toincreased health care costs, businesses may soon be encouraged to implement obesity-reducing measures.

Inher article,Averettdiscusses firm incentives for employees to lose weight, which have had varying degrees of success. These incentives range from free gym membership to self-funded commitment contracts aimed at addressing self-control problems.

How do you think employers can help to combat obesity? Let us know on Twitter@IZAWorldofLaboror on ourLinkedIn group.