Waisting Time

Sedentary jobs and shift work lead to obesity

Driving a bus or piloting a plane may be hazardous to your health -- and not for the reasons you might think. According to this wire story from the Manila Bulletin, transportation workers have higher levels of obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Working odd hours, eating on the run and sitting for long periods of time are all probably contributing factors, says the article.

A study of more than 5,000 Bulgarian transportation workers found that 65 percent of them were either overweight or obese. And, they had higher levels of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, says the article.

"A transport worker's job -- high tension, low physical activity, unbalanced nutrition, relative immobility, high-speed travel, shift work and environmental factors -- can contribute to the development of metabolic and cardiovascular disease," says Dr. Svetoslav Handijev, from the department of nutrition at the Transport Medical Institute in Bulgaria.

Being overweight can cause a host of health problems. Heart disease and diabetes top the list. But cancer, sleep apnea, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and gout are all more common in people who are overweight, reports this article from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
www.healthday.com