Nearly Half of U.S. Workers Have Gained Weight at Their Current Jobs, CareerBuilder.com Survey Finds
October 10 2007 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
- Expert Offers Tips to Avoid Extra Pounds During the Winter -
CHICAGO, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- With cold weather and holiday
parties just around the corner, the office can be particularly
hazardous for putting on extra pounds. Forty-nine percent of
workers say they have gained weight at their current jobs,
according to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey, conducted by Harris
Interactive, of more than 5,600 workers nationwide. Twenty-eight
percent of workers report they have gained more than ten pounds and
13 percent say they have gained more than 20 pounds while in their
present positions. Comparing genders, more women (52 percent) than
men (46 percent) say they have gained weight at their current jobs.
"In the fall and winter, it becomes particularly difficult to stay
on track," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources
at CareerBuilder.com. "Holiday and end-of-year business
obligations, along with the temptations of office treats and cold
weather keeping workers indoors, all combine to make it difficult
to maintain healthy habits. Workers who plan ahead and apply
moderation will be in a much better position to avoid fall and
winter weight gain." According to the survey, many workers are not
taking food matters into their own hands. Fifty-eight percent of
the workers surveyed say they eat out at work for lunch at least
once a week, with more than one-in-ten (12 percent) eating out five
times a week for lunch. Some workers don't even make their way out
of the building and opt for the vending machine. Thirteen percent
of workers admit to eating lunch out of the vending machine at work
at least once a week. When asked about snacking at work, 38 percent
of workers say they eat more unhealthy snacks at the office than at
home. Twenty percent say they do not usually eat fruits or
vegetables during the work week. In terms of snacking frequency, 69
percent of workers say they snack at least once during the workday.
Thirty-seven percent say they snack at least twice a day and 12
percent say at least three times a day. Haefner recommends the
following tips for fending off fall and winter weight gain in the
workplace: -- Stock the shelves -- pack your office drawers with
healthy and filling snacks, so it will be easier to elude comfort
food temptations on chilly days. -- Drink and be merry -- keep a
bottle of water at your desk and drink it throughout the day to
curb your urge to chow down. -- Start a support group -- get
together with other co-workers and start a lunch or fitness group
that will help keep everyone on track. -- Brown-bag it -- take a
few extra minutes to pack your lunch. You can control portions and
lessen the strain on your waistband and your wallet. -- Indulge
without guilt -- let's face it, sometimes dessert is just too hard
to pass up. The key is everything in moderation. -- Keep your mouth
busy -- chewing gum or chatting with co-workers can help you to
avoid that second trip to the sweet table at office holiday
celebrations. Survey Methodology This survey was conducted online
within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of
CareerBuilder.com among 5,600 US employees, (employed full-time;
not self-employed; with no involvement in hiring decisions), ages
18 and over within the United States between June 1 and June 13,
2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and
household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into
line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity
score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity
to be online. With a pure probability sample of 5,600, one could
say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results
have a sampling error of +/-1.3 percentage points. Sampling error
for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. However that does
not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is
not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical
sampling error can be calculated. About CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more
than 22 million unique visitors and over 1.5 million jobs. Owned by
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), The
McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), the
company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers
connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers
for more than 1,100 partners, including 150 newspapers and leading
portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 300,000 employers
take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 23
million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com
and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia.
For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/. Media
Contact: Jenny Sullivan 773-527-1164 DATASOURCE: CareerBuilder.com
CONTACT: Jenny Sullivan of CareerBuilder.com, +1-773-527-1164, Web
site: http://www.careerbuilder.com/
Copyright
Tribune (NYSE:TRB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Tribune (NYSE:TRB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024