The British Medical Journal published a new research study about the connection between alcohol and working overtime. Professor Marianna Virtanen of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health led the study that was undertaken in 14 countries, including Japan, Great Britain, U.S., Canada and Germany.
More than two jobs a day or working overtime can improve significantly one’s financial state. But a major consequence is that health can be affected. Stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes or other possible diseases can be triggered because of too much work.
The new research study suggests a busy work schedule may lead to a rise in alcohol consumption too. If this happens, two problems appear: drinking too much and working too much. This will affect body’s health on the long run.
The research started from a rather simple question: how people start to drink when they have rarely done it before. The study focused on drinking habits of people that consume larger and larger amount of alcohol. What is the mechanism behind this decision? The study’s results claim that people who spend a lot of time in a working office or at home are inclined to drink too much.
According to the study people that spend over 48 hours a week working have a tendency to drink alcohol over normal limits. This was one of the most large studies taken all over the world. The team of researchers was able to access data from over 330,000 people. They live in 14 countries across the world. The numbers from 18 previous studies were analyzed too. The results indicate that people who work over 48 hours weekly are inclined to drink about 13 percent more than people that don’t work over that limit. For women this means 4 drinks in addition to the common limit and 27 drinks for men in addition to what they consume weekly.
A generally known truth is that too many hours dedicated to work are not good for health. This is one of the first studies to link working overtime with an increase in alcohol consumption. To explain the details of the study, the researchers say that this study could help to develop a method for taking care of this problem among men and women. More than 50 percent of adults are employed and this should prevent further social abnormalities.
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