Working the night shift could make you more likely to gain weight and put you at an increased risk for developing obesity related conditions, especially type-2 diabetes. People doing shift work are more likely to eat less healthy foods. Fast food and snacks from vending machines are readily available during night shift hours, but it is much harder to find healthy food unless you plan ahead. Many people doing shift work are also somewhat sleep deprived, making it even less likely they will make good decisions regarding food and more likely they will grab the easiest option, which is usually not all that healthy. The best way to ensure that you have healthy food to eat while you are working your shift is to prepare the food yourself ahead of time and bring it with you. Other steps you can take to minimize the detrimental health effects of shift work include treating your night shift the same way you would if your shift was during the day and making an extra effort to get enough sleep.
Approximately 15 to 20 percent of Americans do shift work, including many people in health professions, and these people need to understand that this can be detrimental to their health if they are going to keep from experiencing adverse effects. Unless people are aware of the danger they will not realize that they need to do anything differently. If you have gotten a gastric band in Utah and your job involves shift work, you will need to make an extra effort to eat healthier, get plenty of sleep and exercise in order to stay healthy and continue to work towards meeting your weight loss goals.