Why am I so fat when I’m so tired? There is a kind of fat that is really the result of hard work!

For office workers, they work from dawn to dusk, and are already very tired. They think they should be getting thinner, but their bodies are getting bigger and bigger. #Why do I get fatter the more tired I am#

I am not "Sister Li"...

In fact, it is true that the more tired you are, the fatter you get!

Many people have heard of "overwork obesity", the more tired you are, the fatter you are. As for why, it is inseparable from the following 4 reasons. See if you are affected?

1. High work pressure

When people feel stressed, the adrenal cortisol index will increase, and the person's appetite will be stronger. Not only will they eat more, but they will also like to eat high-sugar and high-fat foods more.

Because high-sugar and high-fat foods produce dopamine after eating, which makes people feel happy and temporarily relieves stress. Once you like this way of getting "happiness", you will inevitably get fatter and fatter.

2. Staying up late to work overtime

For office workers, staying up late and working overtime is the norm. The working hours are definitely not limited to 8 hours, and they are almost always more than 10 hours a day.

It’s so hard for me…

Staying up late will disrupt the natural levels of hormones in the body, including an increase in brain gut peptides and a decrease in leptin. Both are related to appetite, and the hormonal changes caused by staying up late will increase the amount of food eaten the next day, thereby increasing the risk of obesity.

A meta-analysis of the relationship between sleep quality and obesity in adults confirmed that the risk of obesity in people who sleep less than 5 hours is 2.3 times that of women and 3.7 times that of men compared with those who sleep seven or eight hours.

Moreover, short sleep can significantly increase the risk of weight gain exceeding 5 kg, which is 26% higher than that of people with normal sleep. [1]

Of course, sleeping too long is not good either. People who sleep too long have a 12% higher risk of obesity than those who sleep normally. [1]

In addition, sleeping ≥9 hours will also affect sugar metabolism.

Results from a cohort study showed that excessive sleep duration can increase the risk of death in patients with type 2 diabetes. [2]

In addition, staying up late to work overtime makes it easy to eat midnight snacks, and then go to sleep after eating, which will inevitably make you fat!

3. Sitting for a long time

For office workers, sitting for long periods of time in front of mobile phones and computers every day is the norm. The "Report on the Nutrition and Chronic Disease Status of Chinese Residents (2020)" shows that Chinese residents generally do not have enough physical activity, especially young people.

Sitting for long periods of time increases the risk of coronary artery disease, obesity, diabetes, etc.

Adults who sat for more than six hours a day had an increased risk of death for both men and women compared with those who sat for less than three hours.

Among them, the risk of death increased by 17% for men and 34% for women.[3]

4. Takeaway + Snacks

The time of office workers is very precious, and cooking by themselves takes too much time. "Eat, eat, eat" is mainly solved by takeout and snacks.

Take-out food is almost always high in oil and fat, and snacks are also high in calories. Overall, the calorie intake is n times higher every day.

Taking all the above reasons into consideration, being “tired” does not necessarily lead to weight loss, it may even lead to weight gain.

To avoid obesity due to overwork, you can follow these 4 tips:

① Learn to reduce stress: Give yourself some time to relax, such as finding something fun other than work to relieve the stress from work and not being too nervous. *For example, my hobby is raising huskies and training them. When I see them, my stress is reduced by half*

② Prepare low-calorie snacks: For those who have no choice but to work overtime, it is best to prepare some low-calorie foods, such as cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, milk, boiled eggs, chicken sausages, and sugar-free soy milk powder, which can satisfy hunger when you are hungry and are not high in calories.

③ Increase exercise: Especially for those who sit for a long time, it is recommended to move more often. You can get up every half an hour to walk around and do some stretching. Try to find opportunities to walk more and climb stairs when going to and from work. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day.

④ Control your diet: Controlling your diet here does not mean that you should go on a diet. You should eat staple food, vegetables, and protein. Even if you order takeout, you should order all three types of food. The food outside is quite oily, so it is recommended that you prepare a bowl of water and rinse it before eating.

Dear, are you and your family overworked and fat?



References:

[1]. Zhang Shuang, Li Lian, Huang Yubei, Chen Kexin. Meta-analysis of sleep duration in adults on weight gain and obesity risk[J]. Chinese Journal of Epidemiology, 2015(36):519-525.

[2]. Chen Yijia, Su Jian, Qin Yu, et al. Prospective cohort study on sleep duration and mortality risk in patients with type 2 diabetes[J]. Chinese Journal of Epidemiology, 2019, 40(4):394-399.

[3]. Yang Shuangyan, Zhou Qiang. Epidemiological research and prospects of sedentary behavior[J]. Chinese Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016(35):500-505.