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2014-10-16 08:47:25
Oct 14th 2014, 16:34 by C.W. | LONDON
IN THE last year we have written a series of articles on working hours, many of
which were rather popular. We have tried to explain why the rich now work
longer than the poor, and why working shorter hours is good for your
productivity.
What about the effect of working hours on your weight? A new paper, written by
Joelle Abramowitz, an economist at the US Census Bureau, has some startling
results. She starts out by showing a simple graph. Those who work longer tend
to be bigger (see chart).
That graph is interesting, but doesn t quite cut the mustard. After all, there
may be other factors at play that mean that hardworking people tend to be
overweight one may not cause the other. Workaholic bankers who can afford to
entertain clients in Michelin-starred restaurants are prone to pile on the
pounds.
So Ms Abramowitz uses regressions, which allows her to control for a variety of
other factors, like income. Her results have a few surprises: those with a
college degree are likely to be slimmer. Rather depressingly, marriage results
in women getting thinner, but men fatter.
She shows that for workers in "non-strenuous" jobs things like secretarial work
and accountancy ten additional hours spent working per week are associated with
an increase in body-mass index of 0.4 for women and 0.2 for men. That
translates, on average, into an increase of 2.5 pounds and 1.4 pounds
respectively. Unsurprisingly, for those whose jobs require a bit of physical
exertion, the effect no longer holds.
So why do long hours result in weight gain? Only 20% of American jobs are even
mildly strenuous, compared to 50% in 1960. In 1960 a tenth of the American
workforce was involved in agriculture, but today it's more like 1%. More time
at the desk means less movement. Busy people may have less time to prepare good
meals, instead choosing a take-away. (Management consultants, in my experience
at least, tend to be rather knowledgeable about fancy restaurants near them
that also deliver). They exercise less. And workaholics sleep less: inadequate
shut-eye is associated with weight gain.
Women gain more weight than men, Ms Abramowitz reasons, because they tend to
substitute work for health-improving activities like exercise. Men are pretty
sedentary, whether or not they work long hours.
So maybe desk-jobbers should include a bit of physicality in the daily grind.
Standing up while working as we talked about last year is one option.