Careers with the Highest Obesity Rates: Are You at Risk?
We’d all like to be healthy, and our employers would like that, too. After all, we’re all just people who want the best for each other. At the same time, companies would rather keep their insurance costs down with a healthy staff. That said, weight gain happens and there are some careers where the highest obesity rates are in the last place you’d think to find them.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that careers with the highest obesity rates were likely to be among employees who work for over 40 hours per week. Alternately, people are more likely to be obese if they work in jobs where they are placed in a hostile work environment.
The study was an analysis of the 2010 National Health Interview Survey data. It involved linking self-reported height and weight data with Census industry and occupation codes.
In order to determine whether or not the respondents worked in hostile work environments, the researchers looked at the response to the question “During the past 12 months were you threatened, bullied, or harassed by anyone while you were on the job?” Interestingly, those who replied “yes” to that question had a 13 percent higher obesity risk.
It does make sense that careers with the highest obesity rates are those where it is most difficult to find time to prepare meals or exercise or in which it is a struggle to cope with aggressive personalities. These work environments can lead people to need to decompress, sitting in front of the television to relax and picking up fast food so they can have something quick to eat, fitting it into their busy lives.
While that does seem logical, the study researchers also found some rather surprising jobs in which obesity was more common, too. The industry categories that saw the highest obesity rate included: manufacturing, information, transportation and warehousing, utilities, and public administration. That said, surprisingly, people working in healthcare and social assistance were in the top five, as well. That category included anyone who worked within a healthcare setting. This was determined after the researchers adjusted for certain factors such as smoking and other health behaviors, gender and ethnicity.
The authors suggested that the types of jobs worked by many people in the healthcare industry come with features such as long hours, sedentary activities and high-stress environments that make people more inclined toward lifestyles that promote obesity.
