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IT Workers Are Getting Fatter
buzzardsbay writes "While technologies such as virtualization, multi-threading, and blade servers have made the data center leaner, those who work there are getting... well... not leaner. According to a new study by CareerBuilder.com, 34 percent of IT workers say they have gained more than ten pounds in their current jobs. And 16 percent say they've gained at least twice that. The culprits seem to be the stressful-yet-sedentary nature of tech work coupled with our famously poor eating habits. According to the survey, some 41 percent of IT workers eat out for lunch twice or more per week, making portion and calorie control difficult. Eleven percent buy their lunch out of a vending machine at least once a week."
I don't think most IT workers have seen infinite snacks since the dot com days... These days you're lucky to get free coffee.
If you had super powers, would you use them for good, or for awesome?
Try some Ankle Weights. Adding just 10 lbs extra to your weight you have to carry around burns calories and adds muscle tone. If you do not have a place you can walk to from your home, a coffee place, bar or the like...find one even if you have to drive to it. Walking around a museum or city park is still walking and you might find a new friend or more. An art museum in my town costs about 50 bucks a year for a year long membership, the natural history museum is almost 150 bucks and the parks are always free.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
Um, hate to break this to you, but everyone already has a gravity field.
Getting more massive would indeed make that gravity field more intense.
If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
Never attribute this kind of stuff to your job unless other factors can be ruled out also. Lots of people without access to free snacks/pop put on weight starting about the age 25. For many, getting married seems to add a the pouch and love handles. Also, about age 25, you aren't as hyper as you were when you were 21, and so you are less anxious to run around. When I was 18-25, and in college, I ate like crap, out of vending machines and a quick pizza for lunch. Lots of un-diet sodas. I was still skinny as a rail. When I turned 25 and got married, then I started putting on weight.
Even with eating better, it still doesn't help because my activity levels are far lower than they were when I was younger.
IT and lights out management have nothing to do with it.
I'm still only 30 and my metabolism hasn't slowed down yet.
Given the other studies I see about less computer graduates, that would indicate an aging workforce.
So we have people who have been sitting in uncomfortable office chairs for 20 years writing code, eating Cheez Its or Doritos or jujubees or whatever and drinking copious quantities of caffeinated and often sugary beverages. Is it really surprising that on average they might have a couple extra pounds?
I have a hunch this isn't so much a function of IT specifically but of the fact that as people get older, they tend to put on weight. The article even indicated that this wasn't just an IT issue.
"But, hey, no matter the culprits, IT workers can take heart in another CareerBuilder finding: They are less chubby than financial services and government workers. Fifty-three percent of financial workers said they have gained weight at their current jobs, while the number for government workers is 52 percent."
I actually draw a different conclusion from the article, the fact that 34% of IT professionals have gained 10+ lbs in their current profession means they've been in that profession a few years (generally you don't gain that weight overnight).
I don't know about financial workers but this hypothesis is backed up by the growth of government workers who don't change jobs a lot.
I stole this Sig
I don't see any mention of a control group or comparison to other occupations.
Maybe 34% of all people gain 10 pounds anyway regardless of their profession or even whether or not they're employed. A lot of people gain weight over time irrespective. What phenomena is being described here?
Eating out at work can have other benefits too.. such as escaping the office environment for some mental recovery. Complaining about the bureaucracy with co-workers can be very therapeutic. ;)
When I've started my new job I started hitting the gym. At first it was mostly an hour of cardio, perhaps something like every day for about 3 months. Began moving up to more intensive exercises gradually, starting with the elliptical, then moving to exercise bike, then eventually hitting up the treadmill. Nothing too intensive, just consistent, even if it's a weaksauce 'performance' compared to the other members. (I've eventually worked up to roughly 5 miles in an hour)
I try not to hit the gym during peak hours - that's when all the muscleheads and casual gym attendees show up, trying to out-do each other. Sometimes I get caught up in the act too - cranking out heavier weights than the next guy out of sheer ego - but that's just a waste of time and excessive strain on the body without much improvement. Dumb dumb dumb. I've noticed the biggest improvements when doing consistent exercises with very small, gradual increments. So it's best to keep your ego in check and just keep on trucking at a casual pace. You don't want to damage something that may potentially put you out of commission out for a few weeks at the gym.
It's been about 6 months now and I've been bored strictly with the cardio, so I've been lifting weights more - again gradually increasing intensity. When I don't feel like hitting the weights, I just get back on the treadmill, usually around once a week. The rest of the week is on the weights rotating different muscle groups each day. Nothing too serious, just doing various exercises to keep my heartbeat up.
I started at 210lbs, now I'm at 176lbs. Not too shabby. I've been trying to drop a pound a week, but now that I'm lifting heavier weights I've been focusing less on the scale.
Now it's become such a routine that even if I don't feel like going to the gym, I just go in to get my heartbeat up.
I think the biggest factor to the weight loss itself wasn't the gym, but more the portion control. I try not to eat these humongous single meals anymore. What I do notice is that I have less cravings for specific fatty foods, I have no idea how that change has come about - I still love to eat burgers and fries, I just don't crave it like I used to. Maybe the cardio affected my physiology, *shrug* who knows. Too bad it hasn't affected by nicotine cravings :(
What's pretty funny was when I started seriously playing World of Warcraft as soon as I get home from work. I would log on immediately when I got home, play straight thru the night, then go to bed around 2am because I was tired from raiding, skipping dinner entirely. I think I lost the majority of my weight during that span of time - talk about ironic.
This became such a regular occurrence that I've noticed I was less hungry in the morning when I went to bed hungry, and whenever I went to bed on a full stomach I would wake up starving looking to eat anything - and eating a little too much in the morning. Because of that I've tried to make it a habit not to eat so much at night. Maybe that helps? Probably not :-) *shrug*
Funny, I thought the conversation was about nutrients, not calories. Compare soda and fruit juice based on nutrients and you should (unless you're talking about Capri Sun or Sunny-D) come to the conclusion that yes, fruit juice is better for you. And it goes without saying that "balancing" a fruit-and-vegetable diet with hamburgers is something you really shouldn't be worried about. Or just be prepared to explain why your diet needs more enriched white bread, corn syrup condiments and carcinogenically enhanced (charred) meat. :)
If you'd ever been depressed (or fat or a smoker, etc.), you know that "knowing how" and "being able to execute" are totally unrelated.
And some sort-term advise for the grandparent: Hard liquor. Fewer calories. Less filling. Better drunk/dollar value, particularly if you don't make "tastes great" a requirement.