A study has found that employees who work from home three days a week or less are five times more likely to gain weight than those who work full-time. This is attributed to irregular lifestyle habits leading to overeating, fast food consumption, and binge eating.
On January 15, a research team from the University of Texas conducted a survey regarding weight changes, frequency of remote work, lifestyle, and mental health among 380 employees (average age 52.5) who had received obesity treatment at the University of Texas from March 2020 to March 2022, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those who worked from home three days or less per week were classified as partial remote workers, and those who worked from home all week were categorized as full remote workers.
Weight gain was defined as an increase of more than 5% in March 2022 compared to March 2020.
The results showed that partial remote workers were about 5.01 times more likely to gain weight than full remote workers. Partial remote workers gained 5.4% more weight than before starting remote work, while full remote workers experienced a 0.3% weight decrease.
The survey asked, “Do you eat more home-cooked food?” “Has there been a change in stress, anxiety, or depression?” “Are you more likely to go out to buy fast food?” Responses were quantified on a scale from 1 to 5.
It was found that partial remote workers experienced more stress, had severe depression, ordered takeout/delivery food more often, and had more days of overeating and binge eating compared to full remote workers. In contrast, full remote workers maintained healthier eating habits than partial remote workers.
Researchers focused on remote work and its effects on health behaviors and weight changes because studies have shown that remote work can impact stress and depression. The researchers paid attention to the process by which increased stress, loneliness, and feelings of isolation affect weight gain. Identifying factors that pose an obesity risk allows for non-pharmaceutical treatments through counseling.
The study found that remote work does not significantly impact employees’ exercise and sleep. Further research found that 66% of remote workers work longer hours than before they started working from home.
Professor Jaime P. Almandoz, who led the study, emphasized, “The hybrid nature of the work environment, requiring multiple shifts between home and office settings throughout the week, causes greater disruption to daily life.” The results of this study were published in the December issue of the journal Work issued by IOS Press in the Netherlands.