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Recession sends U.S. workers snacking, survey says | Health | Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The recession that is shrinking workers' paychecks may also be expanding their waistlines, a survey showed on Wednesday.
One in 10 U.S. workers said they are snacking more during the day due to concerns over the economic situation, and nearly half complained of gaining weight in their jobs, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com, an online jobs site.
It said 43 percent of employees surveyed reported they have gained weight while in their present jobs. A quarter said they gained more than 10 pounds and a sixth gained more than 20 pounds.
Admitting to eating habits that can contribute to weight gain, 39 percent said they eat out for lunch twice or more a week, and 12 percent buy lunch from a vending machine at least once a week, the survey showed.
Two-thirds said they snack at least once a day, including 24 percent who snack twice a day, it said.
"Weight gain in the office is common and is a result of a variety of issues including today's economic stress and poor eating habits," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder.com.
Only 9 percent of employees exercise at midday, the survey said, although a quarter of U.S. companies provide gym passes, workout facilities or similar benefits, it said.
Women are more likely than men to say they have gained weight, 48 to 39 percent, it said.
The online survey was conducted February 20 through March 11 by Harris Interactive among 4,435 U.S. adults employed full-time. The margin of error was plus or minus 1.47 percentage points.
CareerBuilder.com is owned by Gannett Co, the Tribune Co, McClatchy Co and Microsoft Corp.
(Editing by Mark Egan and Xavier Briand)
Wealth is good for your health, finds study
Wealth is good for your health, finds study
May 7th, 2009
(PhysOrg.com) -- Wealth and social class has a greater impact on the health and well-being of the elderly than previously realised, according to new research.
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The Economic and Social Research Council funded study, led by Professor James Nazroo from The University of Manchester with a team at University College London and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, found that:
• People from lower socio-economic groups, on average, die earlier than their wealthier counterparts.
• People from lower socio-economic classes, and people with less education and wealth, are more likely to suffer from both self-reported illnesses such as, depression, and also from long-term conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.
• The inequalities in health and life expectancy arising from socioeconomic inequalities persist into the oldest ages, although they are larger for those aged in their 50s and 60s.
• Early retirement is generally good for people’s health and well-being unless it has been forced on them - and this is usually because of redundanc or poor health.
• People forced into early retirement generally have poorer mental health than those who take routine retirement, who in turn have poorer mental health than those who have taken a voluntary early retirement.
• Older people who participate in non-work activities, such as volunteering or caring for others, have better mental health and well-being, but only if they feel appreciated and rewarded for their contribution.
“These findings have important implications for us all,” said Professor Nazroo who is based at The University of Manchester’s School of Social Sciences.
“Increases in life expectancy raise major challenges for public policy. Among these is
Job loss can make you sick, new study finds
Job loss can make you sick, new study finds
May 8th, 2009
In the face of rising unemployment and businesses declaring bankruptcy, a new study has found that losing your job can make you sick. Even when people find a new job quickly, there is an increased risk of developing a new health problem, such as hypertension, heart disease, heart attack, stroke or diabetes as a result of the job loss. The study will be published in the May 8 issue of Demography.
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"In today's economy, job loss can happen to anybody," said Kate Strully, who conducted the research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society scholar at the Harvard School of Public Health. "We need to be aware of the health consequences of losing our jobs and do what we can to alleviate the negative effects."
Workers who are in poor health have a 40 percent increase in the odds of being laid off or fired, but Strully's findings go beyond sicker people being more likely to lose their jobs. She finds that "job churning," defined as high rates of job loss but low unemployment, has negative health consequences for workers who were not already sick. For those who lost their job—white or blue collar—through no fault of their own, such as an establishment closure, the odds of reporting fair or poor health increased by 54 percent, and among respondents with no pre-existing health conditions, it increased the odds of a new health condition by 83 percent. Even when workers became re-employed, those workers had an increased risk of new stress-related health conditions.
Unlike the results of job loss due to an establishment closure, when health effects were analyzed based on workers who were fired or laid off, significant differences were found based on the workers' occupations. While being fired or laid off or lea
Teach your children well: Focused, happier kids grow up to be healthier adults, study finds
Teach your children well: Focused, happier kids grow up to be healthier adults, study finds
May 6th, 2009
Children who can stay focused and don't sweat the small stuff have a better shot at good health in adulthood -- and this is especially true for girls, according to a new study.
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"Certain characteristics already evident early in life are likely to spark positive or negative emotions, and also influence biological and behavioral responses to stress," said lead author Laura D. Kubzansky, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health. "Some traits may contribute to developing healthier behaviors and better social relationships, and ultimately more resilience in mid-life.
"Supporting this idea, we found that children who were able to stay focused on a task and react less negatively to situations at age 7 reported better general health and fewer illnesses 30 years later."
These findings are reported in the May issue of Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association.
Kubzansky and co-authors tracked 569 individuals from the National Collaborative Perinatal Project from age 7 to their mid-30s to see if certain personality traits influenced later health. Trained observers rated the 7-year-olds on 15 different behaviors. These behaviors were then assigned to three different personality attributes: attention (the ability to stay focused on a task and persist in solving a problem), distress-proneness (the tendency to react negatively to situations), and behavior inhibition (the tendency toward shyness, acting withdrawn and having difficulty communicating).
To determine adult health, the participants rated their health and reported whether they had any of the following illnesses: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, asthma, arthritis, stroke, bleeding ulcer, tuberculosis or hepa
Medical News: Americans Are Active, But How Many Depends on Criteria - in Infectious Disease, Public Health from MedPage Today
Americans Are Active, But How Many Depends on Criteria
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By Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today
Published: December 04, 2008
Click here to rate this report
ATLANTA, Dec. 4 -- About two-thirds of adult Americans exercised the recommended minimum of 150 minutes a week last year, according to a CDC telephone survey.
But when a stricter activity recommendation -- at least 30 minutes of moderate activity five or more days a week or 20 minutes of vigorous activity three times a week -- was applied, less than half of adults were classified as physically active, researchers reported in the Dec, 5 issue of Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report.
The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which was released in October, recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, with the added recommendation that aerobic activity should be performed in periods of at least 10 minutes spread throughout the week.
The Healthy People 2010 objectives recommend a half hour of moderate activity at least five days a week or a vigorous 20-minute workout three times weekly.
To gauge how well Americans were meeting those goals, the researchers looked at responses to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. That instrument asked 430,912 adults if they did moderate activity such as bike riding, brisk walking, housework, or gardening -- anything that caused an increased in heart rate -- for at least 10 minutes at a time when they were not working.
Adults who answered Yes were asked how many days a week they engaged in such activities and about how long each time.
On the basis of the responses to those questions, 64.5% of U.S. adults could be classified as physically active using the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans criteria compared with only 48.8% who met the more rigorous Healthy People 2010 objectives.
The MMWR editors said there were two reasons to explain the discrepancy, and both had to do with where
Medical News: No Gains Posted in Health Status of the Nation - in Infectious Disease, Public Health from MedPage Today
No Gains Posted in Health Status of the Nation
By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: December 05, 2008
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Click here to rate this report
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Video source: United Health Foundation
MINNETONKA, Minn., Dec. 5 -- For the fourth year in a row, 2008 saw no improvement in the overall health of the American population.
That's the bottom line in the latest edition of America's Health Rankings, a report released by the United Health Foundation, American Public Health Association, and Partnership for Prevention.
From 1990 -- when the rankings were first compiled -- until 2004, overall health improved in all 50 states, and rates of smoking, infant mortality, violent crime, children in poverty, infectious disease, and premature death all dropped.
But no gains have been made in overall health since 2004.
"We as a country are not only not as healthy as we could or should be, but we're not making progress year over year, and that is of great concern," said Reed Tuckson, M.D., a board member of the United Health Foundation and chief of medical affairs for UnitedHealth Group.
"Without action in these severe economic times," he said, "the harsh findings of this report will only be worse next year for our nation, states, communities, families, and individuals."
He said that the lack of improvement could be attributed to a still-high rate of smoking (19.8%), the fact that 26% of Americans are obese, and an increase in the number of people who do not have health insurance (about 46 million).
The rankings are based on an analysis of a wide range of health, environmental, and socioeconomic data.
The information is used to score each state's standing on 22 benchmarks related to personal behaviors, the community and environment, public and health policy, clinical care, and health outcomes.
This year, Vermont ranks as the healthiest state in the nation, helped by a low p
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