According to Barry Watson (BBA'03, MA'06), economic insecurity may not only have an impact on a person's mental health, it can also affect their waist line.
Watson, associate professor of economics in the faculty of business on UNB’s Saint John campus, specializes in health and labour economics. Since joining the faculty in 2014, he has completed a number of empirical studies investigating the mental and physical health implications of economic insecurity, using Canada’s longitudinal National Population Health Survey.
While job loss is typically a very stressful experience, his work suggests the threat of job loss is often a more important predictor of psychological distress – a finding which grows exponentially as an individual becomes chronically insecure.
In terms of weight gain, studies suggest that overeating during stressful times is a self-medicating response, genetically inherited over many millennia during which the threat of starvation was common. Although functional in the past when calories were occasionally scarce, in today’s calorie-rich environment, overeating has become an evolutionary response to stress. In an interview with CBC, Watson said, "that eating food — especially those high in fat, salt and sugar — releases serotonin, a chemical that helps regulate mood."
Watson’s work has found that economic insecurity shocks are no exception, predicting a rise in BMI, especially among low-educated males.
“While much of the developed world has experienced tremendous economic growth over the past 30 years, it has been enjoyed by a relatively small segment of society,” says Watson. “Although this has certainly led to a rise in income and wealth inequality, it has also created a growing class of workers who are affected by job insecurity. And while firms were previously responsible for pooling risks common to workers, such as the provision of job security and non-monetary benefits, market liberalization has incentivized shifting such risks onto labour.”
Watson’s findings suggest the need for public policy initiatives that improve the social safety nets for economically vulnerable groups, thereby improving the well-being of many Canadians and reducing the economic burden on the health-care system.
"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 told CBC.
