In a new study, researchers found that workers with physically demanding jobs who are inactive out of hours are at greater risk of obesity than those with a more even work-life balance,
The research was conducted by an international team including scientists from the University of South Australia.
The team tracked the time-use behaviors of 807 blue-collar workers in a bid to investigate links between work, leisure, and obesity.
They recorded workers’ movements over four 24-hour periods (including at least two working days), tracking data via a triaxial accelerometer attached to their thighs.
Workers also completed a paper-based diary to note their activities. Obesity indicators included waist circumference, weight, and body fat percentage (BMI).
The researchers classified workers into four unique behavior profiles—”ants,” ‘koalas,” “lions” and “chimpanzees”—based on their distinct behaviors both at work and at play.
Ants: people who are active throughout the day, both at work and at leisure;
Chimpanzees: people who have a relatively even distributed composition of work and leisure behaviors;
Koalas: people who are more sedentary and less physically active at work and at leisure, while also spending more time in bed;
Lions: people who are very active at work, but mostly sit around at home and stay in bed longer.
The team found that while being active is generally considered to be healthy, being very active at work but stationary at home, could have the opposite effect.
This means the ‘lions’ — people who spent much of their work time being active, but most of their leisure time sedentary or in bed — tended to have the highest risk factors for obesity.
The team says the study challenged the broadly-held notion that a lot of activity is a good way to prevent obesity, when in fact obtaining a balance of energy exertion was perhaps more important.
Globally, obesity has reached epidemic proportions, with the World Health Organization reporting more than 1.9 billion adults overweight of which 650 million adults are obese.
In Australia, more than a third of adults are overweight, with one in four being obese.
The rapid growth of obesity is leading to increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, costing the Australian economy billions of dollars each year.
One author of the study is the University of South Australia researcher Dr. Dot Dumuid.
The study is published in the International Journal of Obesity.
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