Social jetlag – are your work and social commitments making you fat?

Bucharest, 23rd July 2012: Our work and social commitments may be fuelling the obesity epidemic in modern societies, according to a new study published in the journal Current Biology and communicated to the Romanian Market by MediHelp International.

Researchers in Europe have found that it’s not only the amount of sleep you get each night, but also the times at which you go to bed and wake up that can affect your weight. Work and social commitments are being blamed for disrupting people’s natural body clock, also known as the circadian clock, and a new term ‘social jetlag’ has been given to explain this disruption. The circadian clock is important in regulating energy metabolism, and the researchers suggest its disruption, as with ‘social jetlag’, may contribute to weight-related problems.

Dr. Stan Goldstein, Head of Clinical Advisory, Bupa Australia, commented: „Most of us have to live by the norms and rules of society, and this includes having to get up in the morning to go to work. Everyone is different when it comes to when and how much sleep they need.”

„The study proves that the hustles of the modern lifestyle may have a bigger impact on our health than we think. This is the moment when modern man should realise how important protection and prevention are and that precautionary actions need to be taken before something really happens. This is why we advise all our clients to buy private health insurance plans, adapted to their needs and requirements”, comments Zahal Levy, President of MediHelp International.

The researchers found that men and women who used an alarm clock to wake early during the week, therefore interrupting their natural body clock, and then overslept at the weekends or on free days to make up for it, were more likely to have a higher BMI. They argue that living ‘against the clock’ may be a major factor in the growing obesity epidemic.

However, this study suggests it is more important than we thought to have good sleeping habits. You can do this by establishing a regular, relaxing bedtime routine and waking up around the same time every morning.

For a full copy of the report, please access: http://www.bupa.co.uk/

MediHelp International is the leading private health insurance provider in Central and Eastern Europe and has been present on the Romanian market since 1999. MediHelp International is the distribution manager of BUPA International in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. In partnership with BUPA International, MediHelp successfully combines Medical Assistance with International Health Insurance for the benefit of their clients.

MediHelp International is acting as an insurance broker of Bupa International products in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. MediHelp International is registered with the Insurance Supervisory Commission under code 17808893 in Romania. Cover is provided by Bupa Insurance Ltd. and Bupa Insurance Services Ltd. Bupa Insurance Services Ltd is registered in England and Wales No. 03829851. Bupa Insurance Ltd. is registered in England and Wales No. 3956433.

Social jetlag – are your work and social commitments making you fat?

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