Does unemployment make you fat?

Chris Wodke

http://www.summittrainingpublications.com/

Unemployment may lead to getting heavier according to a research paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The research was done by Dhaveal Dave and Inas Rashad.  Their research was done by a phone survey of 350,000 Americans with different unemployment rates between 1990 and 2007. Their numbers are before the last recession hit. Here are some of their key findings:

• Increases in unemployment lead to a decrease in the consumption of fruits and vegetables. The reductions were 2 to 4 percent and 8 percent reduction in salad consumption.

Unemployment can have some good effects on health. Here are some other findings from their study.

• The more hours someone work and the higher the wages, the more they smoke.
• During recessions there are less fatal auto accidents and fewer deaths from disease.

The rate of increase of obesity may not only affect long term health but employment as well. Some studies suggest (http://jech.bmj.com/content/62/4/332.full) it may be harder for the obese to stay employed and to find employment once they lose work.

In 2009 Wisconsin  was ranked 24^th out the 50 states in obesity. 29.2% of our citizens were considered obese. That is up 0.9% since 2008. We had a 3 year average of 26.9%. So we have seen an increase in this recession.

Once unemployed and obese  you may have more trouble getting a job due to the social stigma of being overweight. Some employers think someone obese lacks discipline, they are worried about the associated health costs due to being over weight. Also because of the stigma against being overweight, candidates that are obese may not be seen as performing as well in interviews.

If you are overweight and unemployed, now may be the time to get more active and trim down. See you doctor before you undertake an exercise or weight loss program.

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