Introduction
Shift work is a work that takes place on a schedule outside the traditional daily 7 am to 6 pm frame. It can involve evening or night, early morning, and rotating shifts. Many industries rely heavily on shift work, and millions of people work in jobs that require shift schedules. Shift work is the social phenomenon which is an inseparable part of providing services (1).
Obesity is a risk factor for chronic diseases, and a number of studies report thatoverweight and obesity are more prevalent among shift workers than day workers. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that may have a negative effect on health (2). Obesity is a risk factor for chronic diseases, and a number of studies have reported that overweight and obesity are more prevalent among shift workers more day workers. Shift work-related abnormalities in circulating lipids, central obesity, and hypertension have been repeatedly reported (3). Nowadays, obesity is considered as one of the health problems that increases the risk of some diseases. Overweight and obesity have complex and multifactorial etiologies and have reached global epidemic proportions. Weight gain is one of the major risk factors for an increase in blood pressure and lipids, and a decrease in glucose tolerance (4). There is growing evidence suggesting that shift work, particularly night shifts, is harmful to workers’ health and safety. A research has suggested a relationship between shift work and obesity and an increased risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes (5). Dorrian et al. concluded that shift work causes an increase in the body weight, which in turn, results in an increase in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. Shift workers are exposed to greater health risks compared to those who work standard hours (6). Parkes et al. in their studies showed that for those working at day or night, BMI rises more in comparison with a day working shift works (7). Moreover, shift work has both long-term and short-term effects. Its short-term effects include effects on sleeping, circadian rhythm, performance, and safety as well as disorders in one's individual and social life, while the long-term effects include gastrointestinal problems as well as obesity and cardiovascular diseases (8). Studies have found nutrition of night shift workers to be poorer than that of day workers. This is due to lack of availability of healthy foods for those working at night as well as different meal patterns compared to day workers. Other lifestyle behaviors may also lead to poorer health outcomes among shift workers, for instance in relation to smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity
(9). Also, BMI is a measure of weight adjusted for height, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters (kg/m
2) (10). Unfortunately, shift work can also be very disruptive to a person’s health and wellbeing. Shift work is also linked to additional problems with physical and mental health, performance and safety. Shift work is an occupational characteristic of military personnel and this study aimed to assess the effects of shift work on obesity among military personnel in 2016.
Material and Methods
This descriptive study was carried out on 80 man military personnel at southern Iran, in June-July 2016. The two groups were similar in terms of the type of work. The subjects were selected through simple random sampling. The participants were divided into two groups based on their working schedule as day work (from 7 am to 4 pm, n = 40) and shift work (from 7 pm to 7 am, n = 40).
Data collection tools consisted of a tape measure with a precision of 1 cm and a digital balance (NBL 223e model, Adam Equipment Inc, USA) with a precision of 0.001 g.
Respondents were ensured that their information would remain anonymous and the data would be kept in a safe place and would not be used for any purposes other than for the present study. An approval was also taken from the Ethics Committee. Inclusion criteria were no history of cardiovascular diseases or other medical problems in the file of respondents and 6-month shift work experience.
The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height and is universally expressed in units of kg/m
2, resulting from the mass in kilograms and height in meters. The BMI is an attempt to quantify the amount of tissue mass (muscle, fat, and bone) in an individual. Commonly accepted BMI ranges are underweight: under 18.5 kg/m
2, normal weight: 18.5 to 25, overweight: 25 to 30, obese: over 30 (10). In the present study, first, the subjects’ height was measured in terms of the meter using a tape measure. Then, their weight was measured in terms of Kg using a digital balance, and then, BMI was calculated [weight (kg)/height (m)
2].
Respondents were also asked for the permission to review their ethical issue. Data collector gave a brief introduction to the participants by explaining the aims and benefits of the study. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants. Anonymity and confidentiality of data were maintained throughout the study. We utilized the SPSS software (version 20, IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) to analyze the obtained data using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation tests. Also, the value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
This was a retrospective study that carried out on 80 military personnel (40 shift work and 40 day work), aged from 26 to 39 years, in 2016. Mean age of participants was 35.41 ± 6.07 years. Demographic variables of participants including age and work experience are shown in table 1. According to that, it can be concluded that the average age (P = 0.03) and work experience (P = 0.02) of shift workers were more than day workers.