Obesity May Begin at the Office

kops21 SG

(HealthDay News)

-- Being a desk jockey weighs heavily on workers, according to a study that finds the more a man sits at his desk, the more likely he is to be overweight.

The finding suggests office work may be an important factor in the obesity epidemic.

"The current findings present the sedentary workplace as a potentially hostile environment in terms of overweight and obesity," conclude the Australian authors of the study, which appears in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Researchers at Queensland University examined data on nearly 1,600 male and female full-time workers. They found that workers sat an average of more than three hours a day, with 25 percent sedentary on the job for more than six hours a day.

Higher total daily sitting time was associated with a 68 percent increased risk of being overweight or obese.

Overall, men sat an average of 209 minutes while at work, 20 minutes more than the average for women. Those extra 20 minutes may make a difference: The study found a significant association between sitting time and overweight and obesity in men, but not in women.

Getting workers up and exercising may favorably affect their bosses' bottom line, the researchers added. "Time and productivity lost due to chronic diseases associated with overweight and obesity may make it financially worthwhile for employers to be more proactive in the health of their employees by promoting physical activity at work," they wrote

Rhonda SG

I don't work in an office! Laughing Razz

kops21 SG

Me work in the office, but i dont sit more than 10mins at a time. Mr. Green

Wanda SG

Hey Rhonda, did you manage to catch the HK serial on trainee nurses shown on Sat/Sun evening? I manage to catch it last night (episode 3) and I didn't know the profession can be so dramatic! Some examples - on her 1st day of job attachment the protagonist was held hostage by a patient who didn't want his leg amputated; later, she was asked to assist in wrapping a woman corpse, and promptly threw up after that, followed by recurring nightmares of the dead woman; on her nightshift, she was so scared of seeing ghosts of dead patients and hearing weird noises, and too scared to visit the toilet, etc. Is it an accurate depiction of your profession? I enjoyed it anyway, bec. the acting and storyline are quite lively. Wink

dragg SG

this is a nice drama.

saw it on DVD.

Rhonda SG

I didn't catch that series. Most of the time, I don't bother because my shifts are irregular so if I really wanted to watch a series, I'll just go and get the VCD's. Wink

I think I know which series you're talking about. I saw the VCD's on sale. The nurses wear this cute pink uniform, right?

I'm sure to spice things up, they make things dramatic. But sometimes, as they say, real life can be more dramatic than movies and TV! Wink

There are quite a few ghost encounters me and / or my colleagues have had. Sometimes, it scares the hell out of us so much so that when we're on night duty, we'll not go to the locker room alone! Razz

When I was a student nurse, I remembered this incident where this man with a huge 'hole' at the top of his head came in and the polyclinic nurse who did the dressing had to chuck rolls and rolls of ribbon gauze inside the wound and my schoolmate turned very pale and looked like she was about to faint so someone had to support her and get her out of the room. Laughing

And yeah... there are a few pretty interesting moments in my career so far. Very Happy Got scandals too, like affairs between doctors and doctors, and docs and nurses! And then, there are the homosexuality scandals... Twisted Evil

I think a few of the families must have been huge fans of such drama series... because sometimes, in the hospital, they put on such a huge, overly-dramatic act of wailing loudly, shaking the patient, crying until they fall to the floor and then thrashing about, etc, that it kinda looks like... drama. Razz

Rhonda SG

In my place of work, sometimes, we don't even get to sit for long stretches of time! Razz

My record - 6.5 hrs on my feet assisting various doctors with numerous procedures. By the last hour, I already felt a little giddy cause we were gowned and gloved and masked and it was warm, hard to breathe, and I was hungry and thirsty. Neutral

Wanda SG

It's easy to get back ache - having to stand for too many hours without rest. It's the same hazard for retail promoters too, and pregnant women can get varicose veins. Sad This reminds me of a yoga pose which supposedly can help by reversing the blood flow away from the legs. Mr. Green

Rhonda SG

That sounds like an Advanced Yoga pose! Razz

coffeeortea SG

haha.. i use com for quite long.. but every 10 mins or so i will do some exercises.. lol..

Wanda SG

Oh, the easier version is to lie down on your back, with your legs raised up and resting against the wall (so your bum is touching the wall at the base/floor). Relax there for 10-15 mins - that's what I learnt during one yoga lesson. But for backache, pilates is great! Wink

choco B SG

This is curious. Why do men sit longer at work?

Mr. Green

Rhonda SG

I fully agree!! Very Happy

By virtue of the nature of my job, backaches are almost inevitable. There was a period of time when I was plagued by chronic backache, so bad that the pain kept me awake at night and I couldn't sleep at all.

After I attended Pilates classes, my backache gradually disappeared. Smile In the beginning, the exercises were kinda painful to attempt but if you persevere, you'll reap the benefits! Very Happy

The yoga pose you described sounds easy! Phew!! Laughing For a while there, I thought you were referring to the lotus pose, but upside-down, ie. head on the floor, legs and bum up in the air! Razz

Rhonda SG

Eh... I'm very 'eng' now, so let me venture a few guesses :

- When they need something, they'll just holler out to their colleagues from their cubicles, without bothering to get up!

- They do not go around and gossip as much as women. Razz (Not true, lah... but oh well!)

- When legwork's required, they'll arrow someone else to do it. Twisted Evil

- Their wives made them do all the housework, and then erm... some more 'work' Razz last night, so, they're physically exhausted.

Mr. Green

Wanda SG

Rhonda, if you had just woken up, what time did you go to bed then? I thought night shift would end around 7am? Which means you're getting too little sleep? BTW, in that HK serial, besides the cutesy pink uniform (i know you like pink Wink ), the nurses also wear this white headscarf thing...my goodness, didn't know nurses still wear that! How come not here har? Being practical, I suppose. I also wonder why the nurses still wear a dress which is not as practical as a half skirt, or even long pants. Neutral

Yep yep! I used to have problem even lifting my right leg up properly, but with pilates, it's improved like 70%, and the backaches aren't recurring so often. Oh, talk about that head stand yoga pose, it's actually not as straining on the neck compared to the shoulder stand. With the instructor's help, I manage to do it for like...1.5 sec! Haaa... Laughing Embarassed

Rhonda SG

Ah well, I work shifts and it totally messes up one's sleeping patterns. Razz

And, btw, how did you know I like pink? Razz Embarassed

I long for the day when the nursing management here would be liberated and modern enough to let us wear scrubs like in the US. There, the scrubs come in so many colours and patterns and you can mix-and-match and come up with your own style. Wink But, knowing Singaporeans, there'll be a flood of letters to the forums complaining, complaining, complaining, ... as usual. Rolling Eyes

Wanda SG

Originally posted by Rhonda:
Ah well, I work shifts and it totally messes up one's sleeping patterns. Razz
W: does it mean being prone to dark eye rings? Cham...considering what I'm contemplating.

And, btw, how did you know I like pink? Razz Embarassed
W: from the bag thread. Wink
I, for one, don't have bag and shoe fetish, and pink is too "sweet sixteen" for me. Razz