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."

Not just IT workers

[Lord Grey (463613)]

From TFA:

... IT workers [in the United States] 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 guess if you're a sysadmin for the Internal Revenue Service then you're really screwed.

Re:Not just IT workers

[russotto (537200)]

I guess if you're a sysadmin for the Internal Revenue Service then you're really screwed.

No, you're just fat. All those people who call you "tubby"? THEY are screwed. FEAR [e-mail]!

Re:Not just IT workers

[Architect_sasyr (938685)]

I don't fear [e-mail] as much as I fear [e-mail]........

Re:Not just IT workers

[Forge (2456)]

And nobody modded up a "Bastard Operator From Hell" joke?

This is supposed to be news for nerds. Come on. What next? Will we start ignoring naked petrified Natalee Portman?

On to serious matters. This report is really just fudging numbers. Government and financial workers gain more weight at the current job because, surprise. They have been there longer.

IT geeks count the time we stay at a job we like in months. Government and financial workers typically start a job straight out of collage and stay there ontil middle age turns them into blimps.

So basicaly it's "Did you gain more than 10 lbs between age 21 and age 42?" vs "have you gained more than 10 lbs so far this year?"

iMac vs Sunfire V240. Not a fair (or reasonable) comparison.

Re:Not just IT workers

[Leebert (1694)]

Now how about that!


lsherida@skynet:~$ host -t ANY bofh.irs.gov
bofh.irs.gov mail is handled by 5 MX-RELAY1.treas.gov.
bofh.irs.gov mail is handled by 10 mx-relay24.treas.gov.


I myself am the proud owner of bofh.nccs.nasa.gov. :)

No it's is IT workers because

[infonography (566403)]

it's part of the stereotype. If your a fatso (me). You will be most likely to get the job. Wearing glasses helps. Evil Spock beard is better, best not to look like Pitr from User Friendly, go for Sid http://www.userfriendly.org/cartoons/sid/ [userfriendly.org] but extra weight helps.

Re:

[Darth_brooks (180756)]

You've got that backwards, it's knowing who will be audited that provides the stress relief.

"No, i think my vacation and sick days *are* going to carry over. Or do I need to have my former boss, aka inmate #4458721, explain what the phrase 'clickety click' means?"

Re:Not just IT workers

[megaditto (982598)]

Im 165 and have been in IT for 15years. No problems here.

Pounds, kilos, IQ points, or millimeters?

Only PC is getting fat...

[Aardpig (622459)]

...Mac is still skinny. He better watch out; PC may get peckish, and eat him.

Re:Only PC is getting fat...

[by Anonymous Coward]

Wouldn't be the first time. A while back, Windows XP got really hungry on his way to the store and he ate the resident hobo, Windows ME. He got really sick afterwards, went into a coma, and once he woke up, he ran away and changed his name. We now call him Windows Vista.

Get out more

[bluefoxlucid (723572)]

IT jobs like to hand you infinite snacks these days, there's a load of chips and such in the break room. Company culture tends to gravitate towards dubbing a measure of weight gain "The ACME Corp 20" or such nonsense, to which newbies gain some 20 pounds or so and then start limiting snack room visits.

Me, I use the stairs to get to floor 5. I have leg weights. I was in a martial arts class but a shift change took that off my plate, damn. Need to get back to the dojo. Diet? Exercise? Screw that, my entertainment and normal transportation (that is, without elevators) keeps me from being a fat ass.

Re:Get out more

[j0nb0y (107699)]

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.

Re:Get out more

[Kangburra (911213)]

Amicroe always pop a few little chocolates in the box whenever we order ram from them.

So that's why everyone has 64Gb workstation? ;-)

Re:Get out more

[Achoi77 (669484)]

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*

Even more?

[gmuslera (3436)]

What next? to have their own gravity field too?

Re:Even more?

[corsec67 (627446)]

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.

Re:

[nomadic (141991)]

Um, hate to break this to you, but everyone already has a gravity field.

Not me, I'm made of photons.

Meeting with food...

[martin_b1sh0p (673005)]

I didn't RTFA, but one thing to mention is a lot of companies these days have lots of food just laying around.

Where I work there is always a meeting with food somewhere in the building, and they always order more than they can eat. So of course as soon as the meeting is over, everyone goes and gets the leftovers. Next thing you know, you've had two lunches, two cookies and a bunch of soda you don't need.

It was the same at the last two companies I worked for and I asked a few friends and it's the same where they work.

Re:

[TubeSteak (669689)]

So of course as soon as the meeting is over, everyone goes and gets the leftovers. Next thing you know, you've had two lunches, two cookies and a bunch of soda you don't need.

That means your stomach is about 1 lunch, one cookie, and a bunch of sodas too big.

If you're willing to put up with a period of gnawing hunger pains, your stomach will shrink to match the volume of food you should be eating.

The most important thing is not to diet.
The path to success is through progressive and sustainable changes in your eating habits.

I see the difference at all-you-can-eat wing night.
I eat about half the wings I used to.

If you work from home

[linzeal (197905)]

Try some Ankle Weights [amazon.com]. 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.

I have built in weights

[EmbeddedJanitor (597831)]

around my belly mainly.

Re:

[bladesjester (774793)]

Try some Ankle Weights.

This is where I have to add a word of caution. Be careful with the ankle weights. Overdoing it can result in damage to various parts of your legs.

Be kind to your knees. You only have one set of them. Be sensible and work your way up.

Actually

[dunezone (899268)]

My friend started working IT at the local hospital about 3 months ago. Just moved into his new house.
This was the contents of his fridge and pantry:

Bologna
Beer
Hot dogs
Chocolate Syrup (three of these)
Two cartons of ice cream (only two, yet three chocolate syrup bottles)
Three Jack's frozen pizzas
Four containers of butter, and one box of sticked butter.
Bucket of fried chicken
Two pizzas from some pizza joint
The Pantry:
No bread just hot dog buns
Three containers of peanut butter
At least a pound to a pound a half of sugar

I'm missing a few items, but its all about time. He just didn't have enough time to think about what hes eating. Hes on call most of the time and instead of buying healthier solutions he chose quickly made and heavily preserved foods.

More than just IT

[Midnight Warrior (32619)]

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.

Suckers

[by Anonymous Coward]

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?

How many professions don't get fatter?

[quantaman (517394)]

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.

One very workable solution...

[heretic108 (454817)]

...would be to have a treadmill or cross-trainer in every cubicle. The harder the worker exercises, the higher the priority his/her processes are given.

"Hey, Joe, you're covered in sweat!"

"Yeah, I know, those KDE apps take ages to compile!"

And this means?

[troll -1 (956834)]

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?

If you want to lose some fat

[steveha (103154)]

The Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle [burnthefat.com] program has worked for me. I wrote a long summary of it a while back, and I'll just link it:

http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=226411&cid=18343433 [slashdot.org]

steveha

Re:If you want to lose some fat

[Mean Variance (913229)]

The Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle [burnthefat.com] program has worked for me.

Those style websites like that one or this [fireyourpoolguy.com] with the large screaming letters, so-called testimonials, and long, long single page have all the class and allure of a used car salesman in a plaid blazer.

cube size

[gbh1935 (987266)]

but have the cubes grown in proportion to the programmers?

numbers say otherwise?

[Eil (82413)]

Wait a minute, what's going on here? None of the figures quoted in the summary or article are above 50%, so wouldn't that mean most I.T. workers are either staying the same weight or losing weight? Wouldn't that make the majority of I.T. workers a fairly healthy bunch overall, the exact opposite of what the rather smugly-written article is trying to say? I could see if they were saying that the numbers have increased compared to an identical survey in the past but they're not even doing that. Forget making mountains out of molehills, this article made one out of a canyon.

I use this simple trick

[Qbertino (265505)]

People here are giving well meant advice like 'Cycle to work', 'Change diet', etc.

However, I've observed that most of my geek friends - including my once slender geek buddy now turned fatso - have gained the habit of eating far beyond their appetite. And my fat buddy does a lot of exercise.

Newsflash: Exercise doesn't help you lose weight very effectively. There is a far more effective solution: Eat less.

Whenever I notice my jeans pinching and my belly gaining (my thighs have gained to much allready - I ought to get them a tad thinner aswell) and my belt going up a notch I simply eat less. It's become something of a bi-monthly rythym of eating normal or what my spoose has trained me to consider normal (read: eating to much!) and barking at her or simply refusing to eat when she heaps to much on to my plate despite me telling her that I'll help myself.

Eating over your appetite has become a social thing, and if you refuse to do it you get queer looks from all sides. Especially if you're still what other *call* slender. Well, guess why I *am* slender, fat-ass!? It's not because I'm doing Aikido twice a week. I simply restrain myself from stuffing my face. Eating slowly helps btw. Eating to fast is one of my prime cause for overweight tendency.

Bottom line: If you can't come up with anthing better, switch to scheduled Broughth and Ramen for 10 weeks and you'll be suprised how well your body starts eating away at those extra pounds stored all over the place. And train yourself to eat less, even if it takes a few ups and downs along the JoJo String. You'll eventually reach your ideal weight if you apply reason to your image in the mirror.

My 2 cents.

Re:Eating out

[TheRealMindChild (743925)]

Actually, I have found that just smoking more crack on the days that I eat McDonalds solves the problem~

Re:Eating out

[by Anonymous Coward]

OR you could move about occasionally at work. I know that I don't *have* to sit and stare at my happy little green on black terminal all day- though I sometimes do. Little stuff like kicking your legs (Pretend that someone cares, you are alone in that dark room and you know it) can help lots. I personally have a set of 15lb dumbbells under the desk. Good for passing time, or threatening that damned mail room guy who vehemently claims that I slow down his machines on purpose. Despite his nice habit of subconsciously closing out ads as they open.

Anger in the workplace has done nothing but good for my health. Sitting there shaking in rage at the Pointy-hairs burns calories like no other! The same can be said about the ten minutes of heart pounding after I am 'surprise' visited by my uppers.

Sometimes I wish that I had a bowflex down here just to toy with them. Make them think that I actually DO have time to work out. Even better would be the questions as to how it GOT there in the first place. Piece by piece, just like I learned from MASH.

Oh, and working out. Moving around. Sex. Eat whatever you want, just move about some more to compensate!

Re:Eating out

[apok04 (630953)]

While I agree with much of what you say (I walk to lunch if I'm going out to eat, and I take the stairs all day), I've found that stress alone can actually cause me to *gain* weight. A study in a recent volume of Men's Health (can't find the link right now) also pointed to a link between high stress and weight gain.

The caveat is that for me, high stress can be the motivation I need for an extra-hard workout at the gym or an extra 2 miles on my run that day. Recently, after a manager whose job title could officially be "chief roadblock" sent me an email (CC'ing my boss) accusing me of being a "PowerPoint Engineer" (because he couldn't understand my UML diagram since he has no background in software), I hit the gym for 2 hours and took a 15 mile run in the same day. I definitely felt a lot better after that.

Re:Eating out

[bladesjester (774793)]

Stress causes your body to produce chemicals that make you gain weight.

I'm Partially agreed on the stress making me want to exercise more. With me, it depends on the kind of stress.

If it's something that makes me angry, I can work it off. If it's something that makes me depressed, working out doesn't seem to help me.

You work out and run. Me, I work out as well, but instead of running, I have the habit of taking a bokku-to out and using it until it snaps or spending an hour or so against a heavy bag.

Re:Eating out

[digitig (1056110)]

If it's something that makes me depressed, working out doesn't seem to help me.

Working out is supposed to help with depression -- endorphins and all that -- but the trouble is that when I'm depressed I can't be bothered to work out.

Re:Eating out

[Xzzy (111297)]

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. ;)

Re:Eating out

[edalytical (671270)]

Except nutrition is about balance. Of course you should eat fruits and vegetables etc, but a hamburger has nutrients too. And besides just eating nutritiously won't make you loose weight! A soda has about as many calories as fruit juice.

Re:Eating out

[TheModelEskimo (968202)]

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. :)

Re:Eating out

[Gordonjcp (186804)]

Like I said before "eating nutritiously won't make you loose(sic) weight."

Yup. After reading a leaflet about "Five a Day" [dh.gov.uk] I started eating a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables and drinking lots of water at work, instead of chocolate and crisps and fizzy drinks, and I gained a lot of weight. I mean, I felt great - I had loads of energy, never felt hungry, and I looked and felt generally healthier - great. Shame about gaining about gaining so much weight.

Of course it wasn't until a couple of weeks later while we were out shopping that my girlfriend pointed out that it's meant to be five *portions* of fresh fruit and vegetables per day, not five *kilos*...

Re:Maybe if they went vegan they wouldn't be so fa

[nbowman (799612)]

because if the food sucks, you are less likely to overeat?

Re:Maybe if they went vegan they wouldn't be so fa

[Beardo the Bearded (321478)]

I'm a vegetarian.

I used to weigh about 250 pounds. My current weight is about 180. The majority of the weight I lost was when I was an omnivore. It wasn't a wholesale change in my diet, it was a vast increase in exercise.

I have gained about 10 pounds since I left my last job, but that's because my old job was a 25 minute bike ride away and I'd walk around at lunch.

My new job is a 10 minute drive (I take the kids to daycare now) and I don't really have anywhere to walk to.

Re:I gained weight because I quit smoking...

[Qzukk (229616)]

weird hours

This is actually probably a major part of IT weight gain. I was going to the gym and working out (actually working out, not standing around watching everyone else work out) for a long time, and my weight and my pants size just kept creeping up. Went to the doctor because I figured something must be wrong, and long story short, the problem was getting home at 8-9pm, making dinner, eating dinner, and going to bed. Doc told me to take my dinner to work and eat it at 6pm every day.

In the past 5 months since I got that advice, I've lost almost 40 pounds, putting me at the lowest weight I've been since sometime in the middle of college. Can't say it's made my life great (food is so boring now, since I pretty much have to make the entire week's dinner on Sunday, by Friday dinner is just depressing, and I have to spend the weekend to figure out what dish I'll hate next week...) but I'm sure I'm healthier for it.

Re:

[Khashishi (775369)]

When you eat the calories affects the number of calories you burn. You don't burn many calories when you sleep.

Re:I gained weight because I quit smoking...

[dsanfte (443781)]

You actually burn about 60 per hour.

Your body's doing a lot while sleeping. Your heart's beating, your core body temperature is maintained (this takes a reasonable amount of energy just by itself), systemic repair mechanisms are working, you're tossing and turning, etc.

Re:I gained weight because I quit smoking...

[a_nonamiss (743253)]

Never mind. For anyone interested, look here [intelihealth.com] and here [nih.gov] . Both seem to be pretty reputable sources.

Re:

[dsanfte (443781)]

Your post makes no sense.

NOBODY is suggesting you're gonna gain more than 1kg of mass from eating 1 kg of food. No one.

Usually the energy density of food is somewhat less than 100%, unless you're drinking olive oil. Calories are a measure of the amount of heat produced when the carbs, protein, and fat in your food are burnt under laboratory conditions. It's a measure of available energy. This energy can be stored as lipids in the body, and those lipids, or fat, have a mass. It's around 3600 calories per pou

Re:I telecommute and yes I'm guilty ....

[profplump (309017)]

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.