The Biz of Coding

Stress & Health Risks in IT industry — Why Belly Fat is bad

by Ujwal Tickoo on June 16th, 2008

IT profession is considered one of the most stressful ones. Dealing with a globalized and distributed work force is not easy — with work spreading out from early morning to late nights — especially if your colleagues are based on both US West Coast and in Bangalore / Hyderabad. Pressures of unrealistic software delivery deadlines, solving problems are a constant…Work hours intruding private time, long hours in front of the computer, frequent international travel all play havoc with the body clock and eating cycles. A report in ZD Net last year found that:

97 percent of people working in IT find their life at work stressful on a daily basis. Four out of five IT consultants feel stressed before they even enter the workplace, fearing another day juggling complaints, pressure from managers and daily targets. And one in four claims to have taken time off suffering with stress.

What all this often leads to is bad eating habits. A write up "Watch that MidRiff!" in livemint points to cortisol as the errant hormone:

Stress increases levels of the “fight or flight” hormone called cortisol, which increases one’s appetite for carbohydrates and fats.

All this extra apetite for carbs and fats leads to belly fat. So why is Belly Fat Bad? The livemint article explains that belly fat builds insulin resistance and releases unfriendly hormones:

The problem is, fat isn't just inert, gooey, slippery lumps taht pile on to the tummy. "Visceral fats around the abdomen secrete different hormones and are metabolically different,”…These fat cells induce risks by two broad mechanisms: 1. By release of free fatty acids which prevent insulin from working properly, a condition known as “insulin resistance”, especially in the liver. Insulin resistance in turn results in diabetes, and increased risk of heart disease. 2. They also release a range of hormones that modulate body functions. The mischief they can cause, in other words, can reach well beyond the abdominal region.

So, next time you reach out instinctively for those potato chips be careful… 10 potato chip wafers pack between 36 - 75 calories…and that would mean — over a month  — a whole lot of belly fat.

Read More….Meditation for Stress Relief by Indian Techies and a CNET article on the same subject

Take Care!

POSTED IN: Leadership/Life