Research

Hormonal

Chronic work stress (iso-strain) is a causal predictor of incident general and central obesity, independent of socioeconomic position and health behaviors.

If you are experiencing high job strain (high demands, low control, low support), be aware that this is a significant risk factor for weight gain, independent of your diet and exercise habits. Managing stress through workplace changes or coping strategies may be as important for weight management as diet and exercise.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
This study provides prospective, population-based evidence that chronic work stress predicts general and central obesity.
Eric J. Brunner et al. · American Journal of Epidemiology · 2007

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort (Whitehall II), 19-year follow-up, dose-response relationship, robust to confounders.

Source

Prospective Effect of Job Strain on General and Central Obesity in the Whitehall II Study

Eric J. Brunner et al. · American Journal of Epidemiology · 2007

DOI 10.1093/aje/kwk058

cohort · n=10308Cited 366×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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