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Long Work Hours May Cause Obesity

curiousMay 12, 2026·130 words·2 min read

This is a A2 (elementary) English article about long work hours may cause obesity. Read the article below, then check the key words and test your understanding with 5 exercises. You can also listen to the audio and tap any word to see its meaning.

How to practice
Key Vocabulary

Tap any underlined difficult word to see its definition in your language and hear it pronounced.

Exercises

Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and ordering tasks check that you understood what you read.

Dictation Practice

Listen to each sentence, then type what you hear word by word. Trains your ear and spelling.

Memorize Practice

Read a sentence, then reconstruct it from memory by filling in the blanks. Active recall locks vocabulary in.

Read & Listen

0:00 / 1:02
Long Work Hours May Cause Obesity
A new study says long working hours may cause higher obesity rates. Researchers from Australia studied 33 countries from 1990 to 2022. They presented the study in Istanbul. Countries with longer hours, like the United States, also had higher obesity rates.
Work stress raises a chemical that makes the body store fat. Long hours also leave little time for exercise. So people may eat more fast food. The researchers say cutting work hours by 1% could lower obesity by 0.16%. But they say this is not proof.
Some people want a four-day working week in the United Kingdom. They say it could help millions stay healthy. About 200 UK companies already use this idea. But others say it will not solve obesity. The UK government will not force the change.

Key Vocabulary

n.
being very fat in a bad way for health
n.
a person who studies a topic
n.
a bad feeling of worry from too much work
n.
a small thing made in the body
n.
moving your body to keep it strong
adj.
working only four days each week
v.
to make someone do something
Vocabulary Translations· 7 words · 12 languages

Every definition is context-aware — translated based on how the word is used in this article, not a dictionary.

obesityn.

being very fat in a bad way for health

béo phìobesidade肥満obeziteobesidadotyłośćالسمنةobesitasожирение肥胖症비만
researchern.

a person who studies a topic

nhà nghiên cứupesquisador研究者araştırmacıinvestigadorbadaczباحثonderzoekerисследователь研究人员연구원
stressn.

a bad feeling of worry from too much work

căng thẳngestresseストレスstresestrésstresضغط نفسيstressстресс压力스트레스
chemicaln.

a small thing made in the body

hóa chấtsubstância química化学物質kimyasal maddesustancia químicasubstancja chemicznaمادة كيميائيةchemische stofхимическое вещество化学物质화학물질
exercisen.

moving your body to keep it strong

tập thể dụcexercício運動egzersizejercicioćwiczeniaتمارينbewegingупражнения运动운동
four-day weekadj.

working only four days each week

tuần làm việc bốn ngàysemana de quatro dias週4日労働dört günlük iş haftasısemana de cuatro díasczterodniowy tydzień pracyأسبوع عمل من أربعة أيامvierdaagse werkweekчетырёхдневная рабочая неделя四天工作周주 4일 근무
forcev.

to make someone do something

ép buộcforçar強制するzorlamakobligarzmuszaćيجبرdwingenзаставлять强制강요하다

Check Your Understanding

Question 1: True or False

1

Work stress can change a chemical inside the body.

2

The researchers say long working hours definitely cause obesity.

3

About 200 companies already use a four-day working week.

4

The UK government will make every company use a four-day week.

Question 2: Multiple Choice

How many countries did the researchers study?

Question 3: Multiple Choice

Why do some people in the United Kingdom want a four-day working week?

Question 4: Matching

Tap a word, then tap its meaning.

Question 5: Fill in the Blank

Long working hours leave people very little time for ______ or for cooking healthy meals.

Dictation Practice

Sentence 1 / 140/12 words

Memorize Practice

Sentence 1 / 14

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