It is no secret that the switch to a more sedentary lifestyle is one of the biggest reasons for weight gain in the Western world. Our jobs have a lot to do with it, thanks to technology making genuine hard labour less necessary than at any other time in history. And what has been the result of less manual labour and more office work? Something we call 'work fat'. The good news is that we can help combat work fat in your office by way of nutritional vending machines.
Before we get to talking about nutritional vending, it might be helpful to understand how serious the problem is. According to a recent survey conducted by the CareerBuilder website, 25% of the more than 3,400 respondents admitted putting on more than 10 pounds since starting their current jobs. A total of 56% admitted to being overweight.
A 2016 study published in Frontiers in Psychology revealed that overweight employees are more likely to suffer workplace discrimination while other studies have observed a link between higher weight, lower pay, and being given more physically demanding tasks. In short, being overweight is good for neither your health nor your career.
How Vending Can Help
Nutritional vending machines in the workplace are not a magic bullet that will get rid of work fat. There are just too many factors contributing to weight gain in the workplace, including:
lack of exercise
working lunches and dinners
office parties and celebrations
insufficient time for eating meals
work-related stress.
Nutritional vending machines can only directly address what workers put into their mouths. But they can contribute to better health indirectly as well. Allow us to explain.
Installing nutritional vending machines in the workplace gives management the opportunity to start the conversation about better nutrition, weight loss, and overall good health. If management can encourage staff members to choose healthier snacks, the first step will have been completed.
From there, the employer can facilitate additional education and participation activities meant to build on the encouragement to choose healthy snacks. With enough consistent interaction, the mindset of the average employee can be pointed toward healthier living.
Nutrition Is Where It Starts
Science has proven that the single biggest contributor to excess weight is a person's diet. In other words, what we feed ourselves is the most important factor in determining bodyweight. Genetic dispositions and underlying illnesses aside, the best way to kick-start a weight loss programme is through better nutrition.
A worker who makes a concerted effort to eat healthy foods in reasonable quantities should start to see the pounds fall off. That can be an encouragement to complement better nutrition with adequate exercise. The combination of the two can work wonders for weight loss.
Are employees at your workplace suffering from work fat? If so, nutritional vending machines can be part of the solution. Please contact us to learn more about nutritional vending options with Nutrivend.
Sources:
Cheat Sheet – http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/reasons-why-your-job-making-you-fat.html/
