Working in the night shift raises the chances of obesity; a study has revealed. By slowing down metabolism night shifts can make a person gain weight rapidly which does not mean obesity alone but also diabetes and heart diseases.
An international research team has found out that working in night shifts while sleeping during day time affect the natural rhythms of the body so much that it lessens the speed of energy burning. This means an increased risk from obesity, diabetes and even cardio vascular diseases.
The team leader,Frank Scheer suggests that the physiological impact of night shift work on several pointers is manifested in the regulation of body weight — insulin,leptin, cortisol — they apparently contribute in the enhanced risk for development of weight gain which would lead to heart diseases and diabetes.
About The Study
The study was led by Harvard Medical School who took ten volunteers who were asked to work in different shifts for ten days. There were five men and five females volunteers. They were asked to eat and sleep both in the day time and the night. Then they were monitored for differences in the heart beat rate as well as body temperature. All these pointed to one fact that there was a decline in the rate of metabolism.
The study also found out that all these brought changes in the levels of hormones. These hormones are associated with emotions like well being and stress. Such was the case that three of the volunteers started to show signs of developing diabetes in the future. Initially, they did not show any such risks.
All these effects taken together explain increased risk of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure in night shift workers. The research has been published in the new issue of the journal-‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ .
