How Working Too Much Can Raise Diabetes Risk Factor in Women

Woody Short

6 years ago

Discover how working overtime may be a contributing diabetes risk factor that you should not ignore.

Understanding the things that we do and that may become a diabetes risk factor is important in our effort to lead a healthy, disease-free life. Changing certain patterns, staying informed and adjusting our lifestyle are all great choices when caring for our well being.

Staying informed plays an important role, especially if there is a history of certain diseases in our families; such is the case of diabetes. Learning about the causes of diabetes and figuring out what things we may be doing that contribute to its development is important in avoiding it altogether.

For example, recent medical research stipulates that working overtime can be a contributing diabetes risk factor, especially in the case of women.

While the research is not yet finalized, it intends to demonstrate that the amount of stress that comes from working long hours, followed up by the hours of additional work at home, can create sufficient amount of stress that it ends up affecting our glucose levels, our insulin resistance and basically the way our system behaves.

Obviously, there are additional risk factors of diabetes that must be taken into consideration when one is trying to avoid getting sick.

A certain number of these factors can be somewhat managed if one maintains a healthy and balanced diet, goes to regular medical check-ups and consumes the least amount of sugar and alcohol possible.

Nevertheless, there are other risk factors of diabetes that may be a little bit out of your control, such as:

Whether or not there is a history of diabetes in your family, especially your parents
Having been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or being at risk of suffering from it
Being 45 years of age or older
If heart disease is a factor on your past medical history
Having a history of gestational diabetes and/or have delivered a baby weighing 9 pounds or more
In the case of genetic factors, people are more at risk if they belong to any of the following ethnic groups: African American, Native American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, or Pacific Islander.

Women seem to be a particularly vulnerable group when it comes to these causes of diabetes, especially in the case of gestational diabetes or the way stress affects their hormonal balance, their metabolism and even the way their blood sugar levels behave.

For these reasons, making small adjustments to a daily life routine is usually the best bet to fight off any particular diabetes risk factor that may be seen on the horizon.

Other risk factors of diabetes include smoking, having long periods of inactivity and having a particularly high amount of fatty cells in the abdominal area. Since many of the causes of diabetes have a lot to do with the way we carry out our daily life, adjusting these habits can play an important role in avoiding the disease.

For example, sticking to a balanced diet allows us to lower our cholesterol, maintain regular glucose levels in our system, avoid heart disease and other factors that could contribute to the development of diabetes.

Consider switching to a diet that contains low amounts of complex carbs, high amounts of lean protein and significant portions of fruit and vegetables. Ensuring that you consume protein with your three main meals of the day will allow you to stick to this healthy regime and will decrease your craving for unhealthy snacks during the day.

Moreover, adding a good amount of exercise or simple changes of movements to your routine will significantly add up to the way your body works. Take a medium-paced 30-minute walk every day, or switch it out for 20 minutes of biking around your neighborhood.

Remember that every little effort counts! The important thing is taking care of your well being and striving to lead a happy, healthy life.