Economic insecurity can cause weight gain, says UNB prof
A New Brunswick economist is warning that job insecurity can lead to not only mental health problems, but to problems with physical health as well, especially obesity.
Barry Watson, an economics professor at the University of New Brunswick, said the cheapness of unhealthy food is partially to blame, but stress is another key factor.
When people are stressed, they want to eat — an evolutionary trait that doesn't take into account the abundance of food in some areas, Watson said.
There was a time, "if you were stressed out, you may have been really worried about a period of food scarcity, so you may overeat, store fat to survive those lean periods," he said.
"Now in today's world, you're probably not going to be super-concerned about starving to death, but that evolutionary trait is still present in us."
Watson has written four papers on health and economic insecurity, including "Does Economic Insecurity Cause Weight Gain Among Canadian Labour Force Participants?" in which he argues an increase in economic insecurity causes an increase in a person's body mass index.
He doesn't have a background in science or nutrition, but his papers use data collected from other sources.
Feels good
The answer to why stressed people turn to food is simple. It feels good.
Eating food — especially those high in fat, salt and sugar, Watson said — releases serotonin, a chemical that helps regulate mood.
It's the same chemical that's released when smoking or drinking alcohol, two other popular coping mechanisms for stress, he said.
"The thing is, in today's world, smoking is becoming more and more taboo and alcohol is quite expensive," he said. "But food can be purchased at a fairly reasonable price and calorically dense low-quality food can be purchased at an exceptionally cheap price."
Numbers
New Brunswick is ahead of most other provinces in both unemployment and obesity. Only Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have a higher unemployment rate than New Brunswick's 8.4 per cent.
New Brunswick also has the third-highest rate of obesity in Canada, at 33.2 per cent, behind only the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Considering the possible link between economic insecurity and weight gain, the province is in an unenviable position according to Watson.
"Especially when you take a place like New Brunswick that has a population over the age of 65 that's larger than most, meaning that there's probably a much higher demand for health care … this puts an additional burden on our health-care system, which is already burdened."
Solution
Watson said the key is to reduce the stress felt because of economic insecurity.
He said it's difficult to tell businesses to not fire people or to offer more benefits, so the onus falls on the government to maintain a strong social safety net.
"When somebody loses their job, undoubtedly that's stressful," said Watson.
"At the very least, if they can help ensure that a person is not going to be completely out of luck should they lose their job, that there would be some type of compensation available, then perhaps we can help restore some level of well-being to the individual."
Watson acknowledged the country does have employment insurance but said the program is not as generous as it has been in the past.
