Working overtime is known to sacrifice a lot of things, such as reduced rest periods, events to meet confiscated friends, to health problems. Working overtime continuously without knowing breaks will indeed bring a variety of disease problems. One of the risks that lurk when someone works excessively is diabetes.
A study published in the journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care in 2018 revealed the reason.
In a study conducted around 7,000 workers stated that women who work overtime (45 hours or more a week) have a risk of developing type two diabetes. The risk is higher than for women who only work 35-45 hours a week. This risk has no effect on men.
Peter Smith, the leader of the study, states that the increased risk of diabetes in working women who take overtime can increase by up to 50 percent. "The work environment clearly plays a role in increasing the risk of type two diabetes and other chronic diseases, that's what needs to be realized. Working overtime is not one of a healthy lifestyle, "said senior researcher at the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, Canada.
Peter Smith said that long working hours can cause stress. This situation will cause hormonal imbalances and increase the occurrence of insulin resistance which leads to diabetes.
Why do women who often overtime get diabetes?
Although overtime is known to increase the risk of diabetes in women, in fact, this has no effect on men. In fact, according to Cameron Mustard, an epidemiologist and senior scientist at the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto, men are generally more likely to be exposed to the disease in general.
Surprisingly again, in the study, it was found that the increased number of working hours (overtime) in men tends to reduce diabetes cases in men. So, what makes women actually have a higher risk of diabetes when they overtime? Actually, it is not yet known exactly why overtime increases the risk of diabetes in women.
However, in research, researchers believe there is a relationship with domestic work that is usually done more often by women. This causes overtime women to do additional work when at home so that more work time compared to men.
Obligation to complete various household chores then make women have less time to do physical activities and maintain food intake. These two factors then increase the risk of diabetes.
According to Minisha Sood, an endocrinologist from Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, as reported by the Everyday Health website said that women who work overtime and harder have higher levels of stress that affect diabetes.
What if overtime can't be avoided? Although there have been studies about overtime that can increase the risk of diabetes in women, overtime is sometimes unavoidable. If you have this, what must be done is to have the self-awareness to conduct health monitoring.
Try as much as possible to do a physical activity while in the office. For example, choosing stairs rather than going up an escalator or doing light exercise behind an office desk. If you are at risk of developing diabetes, such as smoking or obesity, try to improve this habit and begin to adopt a healthy lifestyle. If there is a family history of diabetes, you should routinely run a blood sugar check.
To avoid the risk of diabetes, women or anyone who likes to work overtime should check their blood sugar levels. The examination can be done independently using a blood sugar check tool or can be done by a laboratory examination.
HbA1C examination allows you to know the picture of your blood sugar condition for about three months back. Most important, consider also the nutrition of the food that enters your body to be more balanced.
