Do third shifters really weight more

My weight loss clinic doctor says it's true.
I find it harder to be active on my nights off, because I am aware more that day walkers of noise travel.
We night crawlers tend to sleep worse, and generally have less energy than the day walkers.

it is my understanding that most "night workers" get less restful sleep and lack of sleep leads to weight gain or sluggish metabolism.

totally just my guess/opinion ( i'm a night worker for the past 7 years)

I've heard that those who work graveyards tend to be slightly heavier than those who work day shift. Anyone know if this is true? I've been working graveyards for 2.5 years and its more difficult to lose the weight. Even though I'm more active than before and counting my calories.

Well, yes and no.
There is nothing cursed about 3rd shift, but those studying this have seen the correlation between night work and lack of proper sleep. That's the real culprit. Scientific studies show that there is a direct link between sleep deprivation and weight gain. There are many hormones that are affected by sleep, and most of them control our appetite, fat, carbohydrate metabolism and the growth of lean muscle. Knowing what these hormones do can encourage you to make a greater effort to get the sleep your body needs to keep your weight in control and to improve your overall health.

And that's harder when you're on a schedule opposite the rest of planet earth.
Get your sleep!

What MaxmimalLife said ^^^

I've been on 3rd shift for 3+ years and it wasn't so much the shift itself but the lack of sleep that was getting to me. After my divorce, my life was simplified considerably... no more running around to pick up the kids, gettting dinner ready, etc, so I was able to get quality sleep during the day. But I can tell, on those days that I don't rest well, that I do NOT want to work out.

And when I used to try to sleep in the day, nobody in our house respected my need for quiet.

Eventually, I found a way to sleep on the job, and that worked very well until they fired me.....

it is so hard for me to get enough sleep and then have the energy to work out and eating right is possible but hard on the days I don't bring anything with me. It is certainly a pain in the *kitten*

I live with my brother but when Im home he's at work so the apartment is quiet. Sometimes to quiet kinda freaky. Since I moved in with him I've been getting in at least 5 or 6 hours of sleep. Or should I be sleeping 8 hrs per day?

Well, we're all a bit different. Some can go on 5 hours of sleep while others need 8-9 hours. How do YOU feel when you get 5 hours versus 8 hours? Also remember that it's not the amount of sleep you get but the QUALITY of the sleep (REM/deep sleep). That's hard to do during the daytime...

As a fellow nightworker I know that I struggle with tiredness leading to some poor food choices. Piles and piles of lovely carbs, nom nom nom.

Can't say I have a less active night than a day worker though, I work in acute healthcare, the night is no different (sometimes busier) than the daytime!