Debt Can Make You Fat
Posted: Monday, 10 August, 2009 | Categories: Obesity
The credit crunch has been linked to everything from increasing depression to the increasing the amount of sex people are having. Now a new study has suggested that debt levels are associated with a higher risk of being fat.
Writing in the journal BMC public health, researchers discovered that people who were worried by debt were more likely to comfort eat, while healthy food was more expensive. The scientists were from the University of Mainz in Germany and studied more than 9000 people. They found that 25% of the people in debt – 949 respondents - were medically obese, compared to 11% of those remaining who were not.
They said that debt had a number of risk factors for obesity and other chronic diseases, as people’s leisure time was limited and they could not participate as much in social activities.
They also said that energy-rich foods like sweets or fatty snacks tended to be cheaper. As financial constraints limit someone’s ability to choose food, they would be more likely to go for the unhealthy option.
Lead researcher Eva Munster said that the recent economic problems would impact on the health of private households. She said that while income, education and occupational status were frequently used to define social-economic status, itself an indicator of health, the study was the first to consider levels of debt. She concluded that debt increased the likelihood of obesity regardless of those other socio-economic factors.