Junk food at workplace can lead to obesity
If snacks are kept close to the work place it can increase your consumption behaviour, says a study that focuses on how companies can promote healthy choices and still provide indulgent goodies.
Many companies provide free or subsidised snacks and beverages to incentivise productivity and boost morale of its employees.
However, unhealthy snacking may cause an office obesity epidemic.
The findings showed the proximity of snacks to free beverages increased the consumption rate. The closer the snacks were placed to the drinks, the more people tended to eat, even a difference of a few feet mattered.
“It was a bit surprising that an extra few feet of distance between snacks and beverages yielded such a significant change in snacking frequency ,“ said lead researcher Ernest Baskin, who is a consumer behaviour expert.
Also, the snacking behaviour was found more in men as opposed to women. “Factors that influence consumer behaviour without our full realisation, like convenience or relative proximity, are especially important to study to help educate individuals about healthy decision-making,“ Baskin noted.
The study worked on how to provide the right kind of culinary indulgence that make an office attractive for employees.
Potential interventions for reducing snacking in the workplace include moving healthier snack options closer, or making unhealthy snacks more difficult to access (placing them in a pantry or in a free vending machine), the researchers suggested.
