It seems that for so many work and weight gain go hand in hand and we need to change that! With the office deemed a stressful place for most, the overall health of employees is suffering for more than half of workers. CareerBuilder just released a study which discovered that 55% of workers consider themselves overweight, with 41% having gained weight at their current job.
“Weight gain at work often comes from a combination of poor eating habits when you’re on the go and not being able to fit a workout into a busy schedule. Two in five workers don’t exercise on a regular basis and one in ten don’t exercise at all,” said Rosemary Haefner, VP of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.
Jumpstart A Health and Wellness Program at Work
Work & Weight Gain: Why Your Job is Making You Gain Weight
Professions most likely to report weight gain
- Administrative Assistant
- Engineer
- Teacher/Instructor K-12
- Nurse Practitioner or Physician’s Assistant
- IT Manager/Network Administrator
- Attorney/Judge/ Legal Professional
- Machine Operator/Assembly/Production Worker
- Scientist, Biological/Physical/Social
Workers cited the following as causes for weight gain
- Sitting at my desk most of the day
- Eating because of stress
- Eating out regularly
- The temptation of the office candy jar
- Having to skip meals because of time constraints
- Workplace celebrations (potlucks, birthdays)
- Pressure to eat food co-workers bring in
- Happy hours
- Lunch and snack habits
Have you ever experienced weight gain because of your work environment? How do YOU combat gaining weight on the job?
