Don’t let work stress weigh you down

In the “I Love Lucy” episode “Job Switching,” Lucy and Ethel take a job in a candy factory. When they can’t keep up as the chocolates whiz by, Lucy frantically stuffs them in her mouth.

The stress of her job drove Lucy to overeat! And that impulse turns out to be quite common. Two new studies show job stress earlier in the day can come back to haunt you in the form of bad eating habits. Researchers followed more than 200 employees in two groups: information technology and customer service. In both studies, participants who experienced higher levels of stress earlier in the day were likely to eat more and make less nutritious choices at night. Lack of sleep the night before went along with making poor food choices too.

Work stress plagues 80 percent of Americans, and 70 percent are overweight or obese. Both are health problems — and both can be resolved. So, reduce your stress response by getting better quality sleep, and take time to meditate, even if it’s at your desk. Then enjoy a healthy meal and a good night’s sleep.

When parents divert their child’s ADHD meds

In the 2015 Will Smith film “Focus,” Smith’s conman character is diverted from his main focus — pulling off a successful con — by his on-again-off-again romance with a grifter named Jess.

While diversions may make for amusing plotlines, diverting medications away from a youngster with ADHD — when the meds are designed to help the child focus — well, that’s more rotten than almost anything!

For years docs have warned teens about giving (or selling) their ADHD meds to friends. A national survey in 2006-2007 showed that 6 percent of college students used stimulants, such as Adderall, non-medically in the previous year. But most docs never thought parents might be diverting their kid’s ADHD meds for themselves!

Now, a study in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology reveals that 16 percent of parents with kids on ADHD meds divert those meds to another household member, most frequently themselves!

We almost don’t know where to start! First, a child with ADHD must be maintained on prescribed medication without interruption for it to be safe and effective. Second, while diagnosing of ADHD in adulthood is complex, treatment can be effective if you get your own medication, receive behavioral and cognitive therapy and make sure to get daily aerobic activity.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare. com.