High professional demands make women fat - but not men

Job stress promotes overweight in women

A new study has shown that high occupational weight-gain requirements in women contribute. In men this relationship was not confirmed. Although the researchers have not investigated the underlying causes of this, they assume that the double burden at home and in the job means that women tend to increase in number.

Job stress can be harmful to your health

Many people are in constant stress at work. That endangers the health. Because too much stress increases the risk of mental and physical illnesses such as depression or hypertension. In addition, onerous working conditions contribute to weight gain - but only in women, as researchers now report.

For women, high job demands and job stress often result in weight gain. However, according to a study, this is not the case for men. (Image: Kaspars Grinvalds / fotolia.com)

Unhealthy diet due to high stress

Several years ago, a US study was published showing that persistent stress in the workplace promotes an unhealthy diet.

German scientists also found in an investigation that working people are more prone to harmful snacks when faced with stress at work.

Therefore, it is not surprising that high professional requirements contribute to weight gain. But according to a new study, this is only the case for women.

No connection in men

According to a study by researchers from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), women who are exposed to severe mental stress at work tend to gain weight.

"We found that high occupational demands contributed to women's weight gain, while men had no connection between high demands and weight gain," study author Sofia Klingberg from Gothenburg University said in a statement.

The study, published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, included data from 3,872 subjects from Sweden who had participated in a long-term study.

The women and men were interviewed three times over a 20-year period for variables such as body weight and their workplace situation.

It was about questions about the pace of work, the psychological pressure and whether there was enough time to complete tasks.

But also whether the job learned new things, fantasy or advanced skills were required and whether the interviewee could decide personally what to do and how to do it.

The authors can only speculate about the reasons

The results showed that respondents with little control over their work increased significantly more often during the course of the study. There was no difference between the sexes here.

But long-term exposure to high occupational demands was only relevant for women.

Slightly more than half of the women who had high demands experienced significant weight gains during the study period. This was about 20 percent higher than women with low work demands.

The researchers can only speculate why this is so. "We have not investigated the causes, but it's conceivable that it's a combination of job demands and the greater responsibility for the home that women often take on," says Klingberg.

"This may make it difficult to find time to do sports and live a healthy life."

According to the researchers, the study is also relevant to public health, given the problems associated with work-related stress.

Scientists believe that identifying groups susceptible to stress, and efforts to reduce it, would not only reduce weight gain but also the onset of diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. (Ad)