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“As medical professionals, we need to acknowledge that unemployment and the worries that come with it can make our patients susceptible to weight gain,” Dr. Arya Sharma, professor and chair of obesity research and management at the University of Alberta writes in a recent blog post.

“Many of the risk factors for obesity are things like stress, depression, anxiety, low self esteem and food insecurity,” Sharma added in an interview. “All are common drivers of weight gain, and I have a lot of patients who struggle with exactly these issues.”

Economic hardship and obesity “are tied together,” he says, “even though a lot of people don’t see them that way.”

One Australian study found those hit hard in the last global recession had a 20-per-cent higher risk of becoming obese than those who escaped the worst of the slowdown. Already, nearly six out of 10 Albertans are overweight or obese, according to the Health Quality Council of Alberta. People with obesity face a slew of health risks, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

“My message to doctors is, if you see patients who have just lost their jobs, or they’re going through a period of financial distress, you need to remember that could be a risk factor for poor nutrition or weight gain, and it’s something you’re going to want to talk to patients about,” Sharma says.

In Calgary, home prices are falling and visits to food banks have reached record levels. Some of Calgary’s largest employers are set to cut more jobs in 2016, adding to the already 40,000 oil and natural gas industry jobs lost in the crude oil rout, the worst in a generation.