Amid the stress of work and running against deadlines at work, away from home, food is the only respite. We wait for the lunch and evening breaks to get a breather and get our mind off the work for some time. The only thing we end up doing during these breaks is to eat. Not just breaks, our workstation is also stacked with munchies for those untimely hunger pangs, which, actually come running throughout the day. Eating is a good thing but eating junk is not. Let’s admit it; we all give in to temptations easily, especially in office, when we order a heavy, fat-laden meal to feel better without thinking about its ramifications. Here’s something that might change our mind.A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine states that eating unhealthy food at workplace may put you at a more risk of catching diabetes and cardiovascular problems than other employees who opt for healthier foods. The researchers studied 600 employees of a US hospital, who regularly used the hospital’s cafeterias. The team developed a healthy purchasing score (HPS), based on cafeteria purchasing data, and analysed the dietary quality as well as overall health of employees to measure diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The team realised that employees who bought the least healthy food in the office canteen were found to be more overweight or obese. The findings establish a firm link between eating habits in office and their overall diet, even after work hours. This could help the employers create apt worksite wellness programmes that focus on improving long-term health of the employees. Jessica L McCurley from Harvard University in the US said, “Workplace wellness programmes have the potential to promote lifestyle changes among large population of employees, yet there have been challenges to developing effective programmes. We hope our findings will help in development of accessible, scalable and affordable interventions.”
