A new study has revealed that those who have jobs that are not very physically demanding and who work for long hours are more likely to become obese. This is bad news for those in the nursing profession. In fact, the study from researchers at the University Of Maryland School Of Nursing actually carried out a survey on approximately 2,100 female nurses and of those surveyed, over half of them were found to be obese. It was also found that nurse’s health was affected by their exhausting schedules, as well as patient care quality.
It was stated that shift work and long working week’s can interfere with the quality of sleep and this can have an adverse affect on health, which can in turn cause the risk of obesity to increase. The study’s lead researcher Mr. Kihye Han said that there was a need to change the regular twelve hour shift that is common to nursing jobs. It was also stated that health care facilities such as hospitals should be doing more to support their nursing staff by offering programs which would help them learn how to reduce fatigue, cope with being sleep deprived and how to adapt to various work shifts.
It was also stated that if these employers wanted to decrease the risk of health problems and obesity for their nursing staff, they should try to insure that there are more healthy options available and that staff get enough time to eat a healthy meal. There is also the problem of insufficient patient care when nursing staff are overworked, sleep deprived and suffering from their own health care problems because the risk of human error increases.
