New study links obesity to workplace

According to new study - today's workplace is one of the causes of obesity in America. This was determined by researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA.

To find this, the information from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics were analyzed from the 1960s to 2008. From this information it was determined that in today's jobs men burn approximately 142 less calories a day than they did in the past, while women burn 124 less, EpostMedia reports.

Technology gives us a lot of advantages in the workplace, but one area that may be seeing its downside is the health and obesity level of employees. Over the past 50 years, as work has shifted from agriculture and manufacturing to the more sedentary office job, obesity has significantly increased from less than 10% in the 1950s to more than 30% today.

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or greater. This is equivalent to being at least 20% over an ideal weight for a person's height. Many factors contribute to obesity, including poor diet, lack of exercise, hormonal disturbances, genetics, and emotional factors. In the workplace, long hours can certainly lead to eating more packaged, high-fat high-sugar convenience foods and skipping daily exercise, eMaxHealth informs.