high tech low health

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?High Tech = Low Health

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Work in the high-tech industry is generally rewarded with significant challenge, financial compensation and prestige. Rambam research shows that in addition, such employment is often accompanied by too little Vitamin D and too much weight.

By Roberta Neiger, ProText

Research conducted with Prof Sophia Ish-Shalom, director of the Bone and Mineral Metabolism Unit at Rambam and Dr Danit shahar, a researcher from Ben Gurion University, indicated that 40% of Israel’s high-tech work force suffers from a severe deficiency of Vitamin D and an excess of fat.
A lack of Vitamin D can cause osteoporosis, and numerous research projects show that levels of heart disease, malignant tumors and autoimmune diseases are higher among those with this deficiency.

Prof Sophia Ish-Shalom
Dodi Ardon

The research examined 358 men between the ages of 25 and 65, who work in Northern Israel in fields of technology or computers, defense industries and start-up companies. Some 40% of the subjects suffered from a significant shortage of Vitamin D, which is created in the skin during exposure to the sun. Another 45% of the subjects showed low levels of Vitamin D and only 15% of the subjects had normal levels.

The project, a collaborative effort between Rambam, Ben Gurion University and the Ministry of Science and Technology, was unique. “The epidemiological literature connects Vitamin D with children’s health, but there is no work on this vitamin in relation to adults who are indoors for long hours,” said Prof Ish-Shalom.

The research showed that some 80% of workers in the high-tech sector are exposed to sun only 30 to 60 minutes a week. This insufficient time results in a deficiency of Vitamin D, which promotes calcium absorption, and enables bone mineralization and normal bone growth. Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation.

In addition, the research revealed that most of the subjects are overweight: in 64% of the workers the relation between weight and height (BMI) was above the normal rate for their ages.

It is, however, difficult to point out cause and effect here. “This is a chicken-or-the-egg-type situation,” said Prof Ish-Shalom. “Vitamin D is made in the fat layer of the body. In overweight people, this vitamin is retained and metabolized in the fat tissue, and does not reach the bloodstream and its target tissues.”

And today, when sunshine is portrayed as the devil incarnate, how can we balance the dangers of over-exposure to the sun with those of Vitamin D deficiency? “Melanoma is the greatest danger, and it usually results from massive exposure that reaches the level of burns,” says Prof Ish-Shalom. If we don’t reach these excessive levels, it should not be dangerous, but it is hard to check this trade-off.”

According to Prof Ish-Shalom, fair-skinned people need about 10 minutes a day of sun exposure. The darker the skin, the more exposure needed, up to 20 minutes.

The researchers presented their findings at the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) during a conference, Health and Safety in the Work Place, which was held lately by The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. “The work was received with great interest, not just on the scientific, but on the individual level,” said Prof Ish-Shalom.