IT Workers Are Getting Fatter 366
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."
Re:Get out more (Score:5, Insightful)
If you work from home (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Even more? (Score:5, Insightful)
Getting more massive would indeed make that gravity field more intense.
More than just IT (Score:5, Insightful)
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 (Score:4, Insightful)
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? (Score:5, Insightful)
"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.
Re:Not just IT workers (Score:3, Insightful)
"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?"
And this means? (Score:5, Insightful)
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?
Re:Meeting with food... (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:I gained weight because I quit smoking... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:If you want to lose some fat (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Eating out (Score:5, Insightful)
Three words (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:If you work from home (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:Get out more (Score:5, Insightful)
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*
Re:Eating out (Score:5, Insightful)
numbers say otherwise? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:lucky me (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I telecommute and yes I'm guilty .... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:I gained weight because I quit smoking... (Score:3, Insightful)
If you wait to eat until you get home, when it's late and you're tired and cranky you're far more likely to
1) snack while cooking
2) cook a larger meal because you're really hungry
3) cook something easy and quick, which is likely to be lower in nutrition and higher in calories
Very easy to do without realising it, and even when you do it's easy to rationalise as 'just this once'.
Eating 4-5 small meals a day as opposed to 2-3 large ones actually tends to lead to lower weight, as people actually eat less in total when they're not ravenously hungry.
Re:Eating out (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Eating out (Score:2, Insightful)
I run my company's IT department, and am involved with a number of large projects, my wife works nights so I have to get home to care for our 3 kids, etc., etc... I used to say I didn't have enough time, too... until I got fed up with feeling and looking like shit.
I started eating better, drinking less beer, and guess what, when you make the commitment, it's very easy to find an HOUR a day to work out. Face it, you almost certainly waste at least that much time doing something less important than maintaining that carrying case for your vital organs you call a body.
Take better care of yourself, quit making BS excuses, and see how much better you feel and how much better you look (and, subsequently,the opposite sex likes to feel you.)
Just my 2 cents.
Re:Get out more (Score:1, Insightful)
Coffee, soda, or nicotine are all hunger suppressants. Wait until after your meal to have them.
Also as your body trims down and you start eating healthier, your body will crave the fatty foods less. Its not that you crave them less now, but your body can get addicted to the oils in those fatty foods when you have a lot of them, so you were likely craving them more then normal before.
A few coworkers and I have started hitting the gym just before lunch (before it gets busy) and started tracking what we eat and the results are amazing.
I am 6'3" and started at about 153 pounds. I am now up to 164 and have more energy and can bench my own body weight with the dumb bells. All it took was cutting the coffee and pop (I still drink both, but don't actually keep pop at home anymore), eating healthier, and finding a good workout partner.
World of Warcraft Diet (Score:3, Insightful)
This won't work for everyone, especially if you like to bring cheetos to your computer, but for me it's been a very pleasant surprise.
I've also found that Rock Band drums give you a pretty decent workout, the Wii sports like boxing can be a bit of a challenge, and of course the benefits of DDR are pretty well known. I'm really looking forward to Wii Fit today.
Re:Actually (Score:2, Insightful)