Beware, your job could make you fat!

Zee Media Bureau

Melbourne: Most of us think that eating too much and too little exercise are the only factors that are making us fat, but researchers say there's more to it – your job.

The sedentary lifestyle and stressfull environment that comes with longer working hours can make us gain excess weight.

It is said that more than 1.9 billion adults worldwide are overweight and, of these, over 600 million are found to be obese.

In order to root out the factors that lead to weight gain, researchers in Australia looked at data from a prior study involving 450 mostly middle-aged participants (230 women, 220 men), who worked in both blue and white-collar positions.

The researchers measured participants' height, weight and waist circumference in a clinic and conducted telephone interviews to collect information about their work. They also assessed the psychosocial qualities of their work.

The team suggests that the two aspects of job - - decision-making and the application of skills had different effects on the health.

Their findings have been published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.