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August 5, 2016

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Job stress weighs on young workers

SINCE entering China’s white-collar work force about five years ago, Karl Zhao has attained a respectable bank job, a wide professional network — and a swelling waistline.

Zhao is part of an expanding population of heavyset Chinese desk jockeys, many of whom are weighed down by workplace pressures, irregular working hours and poor eating habits.

The 27-year-old Zhao says he had an athletic figure when he graduated from university. Since he started working as a bank clerk in Shanghai though, he claims to have packed on nearly 10 kilograms. He blames his weight gain mostly on work.

“Over the past five years, I’ve rarely left work on time. My life is filled with conferences, reports, business trips and social interactions. It’s also common for me to work overtime on at least one weekend day,” he explains. “Yet, the overwork hasn’t burned my calories. On the contrary, it seems to have added to my weight.”

Situations like Zhao’s have apparently become so common that they’ve led to the coining of a new Chinese expression — guo lao fei (过劳肥), meaning “overwork obesity.”

Medical experts are also taking notice of this trend. In fact, obesity was recently identified as the top workplace health concern in a recent white paper from the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Chinese Hospital Association and Beijing Health Safeguard Association. This finding was based on an investigation of 220,000 people in 11 cities across China, including Shanghai.

The downsides of obesity are more than skin deep. Weight gain can raise the risks of developing other health problems, including diabetes, fatty liver, cardiovascular disorders, asthma and even certain kinds of cancer.

Other data suggest that obesity is a large problem among young people. According to a 2013 survey conducted by China Youth Daily, 84.8 percent of respondents said they had gained weight since starting their careers, while 62 percent of them said they were “overwork obese.” Self-reports of weight problems came mostly from those in sedentary professions like IT, journalism and sales.

Stress, lack of activity and exercise, loss of sleep and unhealthy eating have all been widely identified as contributors to weight gain. Unfortunately these and other unhealthy lifestyle factors are all part of the job for many Chinese office workers.

Traditional approach

Pressure at work is likely to result in cortisol secretion growth which boosts people’s appetite for more foods, according to Bonnie Taub-Dix of the American Dietetic Association. Adding to the problem, high-calorie desserts, creamy foods and salty snacks are popular among those pressed for time.

Limited physical exercise, naturally, means limited energy consumption which easily leads to fat build-up, says Professor Hong Shaoguang, a health education expert in China. Insufficient sleep will have a negative impact on the secretion of leptin, a hormone that restrict people’s appetite. Meanwhile, eating an overly heavy dinner late at night can introduce a large dose of calories into the body just before going to bed.

Traditional Chinese medicine, however, sees a weak spleen (digestive and absorption system in TCM concept) as a major trigger behind weight gain.

TCM holds that the spleen, together with the stomach, digest and absorb nutrients, says Dr Jiang Zaifeng, a registered TCM physician based in Hong Kong.

The spleen is responsible for sending nutrients from the stomach to other organs, and also for expelling excess fluids. If the spleen isn’t functioning properly, fluids will collect and turn into fat. Fat collects in muscles, organs and in the blood, which can cause health problems.

Overwork which is often accompanied with great psychological pressure, can lead to liver-qi (energy flow) depression.

This will then have a negative impact on the spleen, which relies on a healthy functioning liver to produce sufficient blood and qi.

“Most ‘overwork overweight’ sufferers are not only bothered by fat build-up, but also physical fatigue, difficulty in concentration and excessive sweating. Some patients suffer from edema in the feet, diarrhea, sore throat and lymph node enlargement, which are all symptoms of weak spleen,” says Xie Yinling, associate chief physician of the geriatric department at Yueyang Hospital attached to Shanghai University of TCM.

Though eating less and exercising more are generally recommended for losing weight, this may not work for the “overwork overweight” sufferers who don’t fortify their spleen first, says Dr Xie.

To help regain a healthy spleen, Dr Xie encourages patients to get at least 7.5 hours of sleep each day, cut back on business travel and replace dinner with health-benefiting foods such as soups made of liquorice, wheat and jujubes or lotus roots, lotus seeds and yam.

She also emphasizes a slow and gradual weight-loss process to stay healthy and prevent weight rebounding.

“My advice will be losing 0.5kg a week, 1.5kg a month, and 2.5-3kg for two months,” says Dr Xie. “Do not rush, but persist.”

 

Liquorice, wheat and jujubes soup

Ingredients: liquorice (15g), wheat (30g), 5-6 jujubes

Preparations:

1. Soak and wash the wheat.

2. Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a quick boil.

3. Turn to gentle heat and keep cooking for about 30 minutes.

4. Drink the soup and eat the wheat and jujubes as supper.

Benefits: Helps reinforce the spleen and regulate liver-qi. It can also help soothe the nerves and aid sleep.

 

Lotus roots, lotus seeds and yam soup

Ingredients: lotus root (100g), 7-8 lotus seeds and yam (100g)

Preparations:

1. Wash and chop the lotus root and yam.

2. Soak and wash the lotus seeds and get rid of the lotus nuts.

3. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a quick boil.

4. Turn to gentle heat and keep cooking for another 30 minutes.

5. Drink the soup and eat the ingredients.

Benefits: Helps reinforce the spleen, improve urination and relieve fatigue.




 

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