WFH will cause more obesity

[BalloonCityBaseline]

I can't see how it wouldn't. Stuck at home, alone, mostly based a desk. Not even a walk from a tube station or up a few flights of stairs. Access to more food. Usually I just bring what I know I should eat and then I don't buy more or use the vending machine, but at home I'm eating much much more.
What does everyone think? I'm sure there's some counter views.

I was thinking that if I wfh permanently I would miss out on walking to the train, and then from the station to the office. That was 10,000 steps a day for me.
But in the other hand would have 2 extra hours per day. More than enough time to go for a run which I wouldn’t do every day but would probably manage more often than if I was in the office.

I drove to work pre pandemic. Usually ended up buying meals from the canteen as it was the only place nearby.

Now I have more time to without my commute so i can go for a walk or run instead. I eat when I want and what I want (within reason) which for me means healthier and more intuitive eating. At lunchtime I am more likely to go for a walk because I live in a pretty area.

So I think it’s less clear cut, depends on your home and work situations, personality and habits.

I agree. I wear a fitbit. I used to take public transport at to work but that stopped when I started WFH. Ithe amount of steps I took in a day halved due to walking less. Even walking to meeting rooms has an impact.

My non-exercise energy expenditure (ie calories burned from going about my day, not burned doing a jog or an exercise) dropped so much.

I recommend you put down the biscuits OP

And yet my colleague has started hill walking in the three hours he's gained daily, lost weight and is doing wonders for his health.

I get more exercise now as have time and privacy to do an exercise video on my lunch break or take a walk. Working in the office it was rushing in the morning and evening to get DD to/from school, getting me to/from work, but then just siting at my desk all day.

I'm far fitter than I was before lockdown. I run or walk virtually every lunchtime or evening, and spend less time snacking because I'm not exhausted from my commute and looking for a sugar fix.

I'm exercising more wfh. Got time in my lunch break for a workout or long walk. Hot time before and after work to exercise too. Definitely fitter. I ate more last year, but now I'm restricting myself.

I get far more exercise in now I'm wfh. More time to run and most days I'll go for a walk at lunchtime. Also eating much better and have more time to focus on healthy evening meals rather than whatever is easiest.

I’ve lost a stone in the last 7 weeks whilst wfh. I can cook better meals as I have access to better cooking facilities. I have breakfast , stay at me desk till lunch (if I have a break I just make a coffee), then bake a healthy lunch and a healthy dinner. I do much less moving around but diet is the most essential part.

I also love running and feel like I have more time and energy to work out when wfh...however I think a lot of people think that "going for a run" makes up for a the rest of life sedentary. It doesnt. I think people might stay fit and slim jn the shirt term but the long terms effects of less moving around cannot be compensated for by a long walk or a run in between.

@LilMidge01

I also love running and feel like I have more time and energy to work out when wfh...however I think a lot of people think that "going for a run" makes up for a the rest of life sedentary. It doesnt. I think people might stay fit and slim jn the shirt term but the long terms effects of less moving around cannot be compensated for by a long walk or a run in between.

This. And despite anecdotal evidence to the contrary, the OP is clearly right.

I’ve wfh for years - you just need to adjust your schedule/expectations a bit.

I make sure there are decent lunches in my ‘big shop’ so I’m able to eat sensibly during the day. I stand when I’m on the phone or sitting through meetings. If I have ten spare minutes I’ll walk round the block or do 1000 steps on the spot. My desk fidget toys are dumbbells so if I’m waiting for my computer to do something I’ll wave them round a bit.

Sometimes I walk first thing and last thing. Usually just round the block - equivalent to a short commute.

And because I’m home anyway, dinner is more likely to be good food and less likely to be quick crap.

It’s okay, you just need to look for the opportunities.

I think that if you like exercise and try to work it into your routine anyway then wfh gives you more time to spend achieving this. I was thinking more of those who do no exercise, but previously had to walk at least from the car park to the office (to use an extreme example) and now don't have to move anywhere.
Also there is the freedom to eat more without judgement. I've always been the fat person who says no to the biscuits for fear of being judged but at home I could eat half a packet of hobnobs in one sitting and no one would know (except the cat.)

Well, it certainly did for me. I was fat before lock down, and was just starting to deal with it (a bit). Then I started WFH last March and through a combination of longer hours at my desk panicking about losing my job, no walking to and from the station (at pace because I was always in a rush) and the fatal proximity of the fridge and the wine bottle, I gained another 2 stone in 11 months.

So yes, OP, for that part of the population who like like me, are a bit lazy and have no willpower, obesity is going to sky rocket.

That said, I have got a grip on myself now and I have found that it is also easier to diet at home than in an office, so there are swings and roundabouts. I am looking forward to the pools reopening though, as that was always my favourite exercise. Walking is getting a little old.

Ah op, you’re me.

There’s a flip side to what you say.

The plus side for me is I was always too embarrassed to look like I was going for a walk at lunch time if there were people to see me, now there’s no one.

And I don’t eat the biscuits because I’m not bored* or needing a sugar fix. (Also I deliberately buy biscuits I don’t like, so the DC can have them but I won’t.)

*Not because my work suddenly got more interesting, just because if I’m sitting with nothing to do or thinking or whatever, I’ll be either sticking a wash in or walking on the spot.

Arguably, being at home means that any meetings are conducted by video chats. In the office, I go the whole day without seeing my own face. WFH I am confronted with the sight of my own face (and the chubbiness of it) several times every single day. It's a lot harder to hide from my weight. Luckily I have 2 hours per day saved from the commute so I can walk. I also have the time and facilities to prepare a proper lunch rather than eat bread every bloody day. I can also exercise in my lunch hour without being in inappropriate clothes or shoes or not being able to have a wash after. I'm also far far less stressed from the commute and being in an office of tossers so I don't get 'in' from work and comfort eat.

Largely, I think WFH will massively improve most people's health.

I don't agree.

If you're not commuting you have more time available. I've saved 60-90 minutes a day as I'm sure others have too, so why not use that for exercise?

Add to that I no longer have easy access to the office vending machine nor the on-site canteen that serves lattes and bacon butties so I'm eating far less shite at home and have lost over a stone in the last year.

WFH I am confronted with the sight of my own face (and the chubbiness of it) several times every single day. It's a lot harder to hide from my weight.

Isn’t that the truth!

@BalloonCityBaseline

I think that if you like exercise and try to work it into your routine anyway then wfh gives you more time to spend achieving this. I was thinking more of those who do no exercise, but previously had to walk at least from the car park to the office (to use an extreme example) and now don't have to move anywhere. Also there is the freedom to eat more without judgement. I've always been the fat person who says no to the biscuits for fear of being judged but at home I could eat half a packet of hobnobs in one sitting and no one would know (except the cat.)

You can't blame WFH for a lack of willpower nor laziness.

Here's my side just to add to the anecdotes. Was fat, got a new job in the NHS last year (was always in healthcare) at the height of the pandemic, was way too busy to eat anything and too stressed, running up and down ward corridors, lost five stone now a size 12. Can I just say, on a side note, it is way easier to carry on losing weight when you have already lost a substantial amount of weight? Exercise is easier, the compliments motivate you, you get used to seeing your vajayjay when you look down
But seriously all I see is people around me struggling. Some are struggling with their weight for the first time in their adult lives! Lack of things to do, things to dress up for, shit weather, no chance of having to wear a bikini, poor mental health, feeling on edge. I don't know many who haven't put on weight in the past year.

Wfh has enabled me to have a desk cycle, walk and talk for calls and do workouts. However, on lazy days i barely need to move at home.

@FrangipaniBlue please don't make this another fat shaming thread. It doesn't help the conversation. Fat shaming does not make people lose weight! It just makes us depressed.

I do not like WFH. If I could twirl my magic wand I will go in 2 or 3 times a week. The sedentary sitting all day is driving me nuts and making me gain weight. I prefer to walk around, walk to meetings, walk to the bus.

I don't know, I think it depends on the person, I have always WFH, well, rather have a job with a lot of flexibility, so I can work from home when I want.

When I work from home I'll have constant breaks during the day where I do short dance exercises, yoga, meditation etc., can't do that at work. But at work I walk in-between rooms, do the stairs etc.

I eat better when I am at home. I can cook.

For me actually a mixed schedule is best, on the days at home I am more relaxed, but the days in are energising, seeing people etc., so I guess it depends how you organise yourself, how motivated you are to eat well and exercise and how easy your life is in general. I think the harder your life the more difficult it is to stay fit.