The choice of food that people take at the office is not good for their health. A new study shows that adults are eating more junk food at their workplace, which surprisingly amounts to 1300 calories per week.
Junk Food Galore
The Centers for Disease Control And Prevention conducted a study that showed more than 20 percent of working Americans get their food from work. The team from the CDC used data they collected from a national survey that showed how much healthy food is in an office and how much people were actually eating it. According to the survey, 71 percent of calories were discovered among people who eat free food at their workplace.
When the participants were asked what foods were served for free, they mentioned foods that were high in empty sodium, calories, and refined grains. Fruits and whole grains were rarely mentioned.
The main items that were mentioned are pizza, soda, cookies, candy, brownies, and cakes.
Employers Can Do More
The researchers who conducted the experiment suggest that employers can do more to help ensure their employees are eating healthier. Lead author of the study, Stephen Onufrak, stated that adding vending machines that have healthier snacks is one option to help combat any future health problems.
"Since we found that a lot of the foods obtained by employees were free, employers may also want to consider healthy meeting policies to encourage healthy food options at meetings and social events," Onufrak stated.
Sugar Limit
According to the CDC, Americans, in general, are consuming too much sugar that can lead to severe health problems. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, sudden weight gain, and heart diseases are a few of the health issues a person can develop from too much sugar intake.
The CDC states that people should keep their consumption of sugar intake to 10 percent of their total daily calories. For children, the CDC states that they should only have a sugar intake that is 14 percent of their daily calories.
Most things in America that have added sugar are grain-based desserts like cake and cookies, dairy desserts, and sugar-sweetened beverages. From 2005-2010, the CDC noted that the average intake of sugars was 335 calories or 13 percent in men and in women over the age of 20, the amount was 239 calories.
Non-Hispanic Caucasian youths consume more sugar than Mexican-American youths; Hispanic black adults eat more added sugar than non-Hispanic white and Mexican-American adults. The CDC suggests that moving for a healthier diet will help Americans live longer.
