May 2007

In a church by Penn Station, seven people gather to share stories of suffering from the same disease. Symptoms range from high blood pressure and anxiety, to binge eating, skipping meals, pain from repetitive motions and a lackluster sex life.

They suffer from workaholism, a life-altering disease according to the World Service Organization, which also supports 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous.

For the members of the New York City Workaholics Anonymous group, work has become their drug of choice. It gives them the adrenaline rush needed to get through the day, no matter the cost to themselves or others.

"I filled the numbness with work and as a side effect I wasn't kind to myself," one member said. "I would eat fast food or, sometimes, not eat at all," said one member of a workaholics group, who preferred to remain anonymous to ensure his recovery is not impeded.

While most New Yorkers would not classify themselves as workaholics, the on-the-go lifestyle that is prevalent here can have a direct effect on health.

A 2004 study from the Center for Chronic Disease, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services that aims to improve Americans' health, found that 23,000 New York City residents died from heart disease. It is our city's biggest killer according to article 81 of the NYC Health Code. Three hundred out of every 100,000 in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island die from heart disease, compared to the national average of 253 and in Nassau County, a review of death certificates by the New York Times found the rate of heart disease to be 20 percent higher than the national average.

Why are New Yorkers more likely to die from heart disease? It's our eat-out lifestyle, said Gabriella Petrick, assistant professor at New York University's Food Studies Program.

"You never have to cook in New York," she said. "It's something you just don't have to do, so we eat a lot of street food, which is inherently unhealthy. You are more likely to eat higher fat and higher calories and no fruits or vegetables."

The problem usually stems from not having enough time said Petrick. "The lunch hours really have gotten shorter and people are increasingly eating at their desk." A 2005 study conducted by Opinion Research found that the average lunch break was just 31 minutes, down from 36 in 1996. And more employees were multitasking during their lunch breaks, either running errands like going to the bank, or eating at their desk.

"It takes more planning to eat right in New York and when we get to that time crunch we tend not to go for the foods that are harder. Instead of going to the Union Square Whole Foods, we visit our local produce store and just get enough food for that day," Petrick said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 27 percent of New Yorkers reported not having any leisure time, 5 percent higher than the national average. And a whopping 74 percent of New Yorkers reported not eating enough fruits or vegetables. Both are leading causes of the city’s high rate of heart disease according to the CDC.

The average American works 3.5 more hours a week than they did in 1977, according to the Families and Work Institute. Add that New Yorkers have the longest commute in the nation, spending almost one full week a year just getting to work, according to the 2004 U.S. Census Burea, and it begins to look like New Yorker’s are giving up their lives for work.

It's a concern that many people come to Marlisa Brown to help address. As a health consultant at Total Wellness, she helps people identify small changes they can make to improve their health.

"People in lower-level management or supervisors aren't told how much time they have to eat,” Brown said. “Usually they get caught up in deadlines and workloads and, without knowing it, they'll pass up their opportunity to eat. Or it's just not there — that comes up a lot."

At the workaholics annoynmous meeting one member confessed he was going to head back to the office after the meeting, instead of home to his wife to enjoy dinner.

When people go a long time without eating, they grab the quickest thing they can find, Brown said. Often that's a bag of M&Ms or chips, both high in sodium and sugar.

In the short term, a person can expect headaches, irritable moods and bowels, acid reflux, jitters and the inability to concentrate. But it's the long-term effects of eating this way for at least two years that can lead to things like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Brown.

And those can be fatal.

It's what the Japanese call "karoshi," or death by overwork, and it's responsible for 5 percent of heart attacks for people under 60, according to Japan's Economic Planning Agency.

In reaction New York recently voted to restrict restaurants from serving more than a half-gram of artificial trans fat in any menu item.

The trick, Brown said, is "to be moderate and reprogram your eating. One might only see a minor short-term response, but it's better to react now when you still have flexibility than to wait until real health effects set in and that flexibility is gone. You'd be amazed how one small change and a person can start to feel better."