Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Ever Considered?

I know that this is not really ADHD related, but I do believe that there is a thread that connects all of these ideas.  I was watching a show on TV today that was once again talking about the obesity epidemic.  The woman that was being interviewed struck me as depressed.  I wondered if any government group had ever done a study on the link between all of the financial cut backs that have been going on and on and on and the growing obesity concerns.  Here's how this came to me.  For years now all types of work places have been doing cut backs.  Everyone is trying to save money by forcing everyone to work harder.  Every one's job expectations have increased.  People in all lines of work are expected to take on more responsibility and complete more tasks with no increase in the amount of time they are given or amount of resources that are at their disposal.  To me this sounds like a great recipe for disaster.  Increasing stress has got to be playing a role in increased depression rates.  People who are depressed are likely to overeat comfort foods.  Yes, I realize that this is not true in all cases, but just today when I was reading blogs there were an awful lot of you who are self medicating your holiday stress with Christmas cookies ;)
Stress/depression and overeating are a vicious cycle.  The more you eat, the more you are angry with yourself, creating more stress and thereby more overeating.  This is not a new idea, but I wonder if it has been specifically linked to increased expectations in the workplace?
This also could be a contributing factor in my earlier theory about kids not playing outside as much.  Obese and depressed parents may be less engaged with their children, logically speaking.  Therefore, the children are playing outside less and actively engaged less with their parents.  This makes me think that children might also be allowed to fend for themselves more often, and not likely to make the best choices for themselves.
I wonder if the workplace cut backs are saving enough money to cover the increased costs in the medical and mental health systems??? 
Hmmmmm...

2 comments:

  1. Mental health, sadly, had never been a priority in American life....

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  2. It hasn't been in Canadian life either.

    ReplyDelete