Women who snack at work consume a staggering 100,000 extra calories each year, a survey has claimed.
The average total consumed in crisps, cakes, sweets, chocolate and milky or sugary drinks is equivalent to an additional 50 days’ food intake, as an adult woman’s ideal consumption is 2,000 calories per day.
The astonishing indulgence was revealed after a survey of 1,000 women on behalf of Dutch organic food maker Kallø, who admitted consuming an extra 2,240 calories every week on average.
The annual total of 100,800 extra calories – based on 45 working weeks – is the same as 1,254 glasses of Prosecco, 193 double-stacked burgers or 502 bars of chocolate.
Dieticians said they were ‘not surprised’ by the research but warned that consumption of just 500 extra calories a day could result in weight gain of 1lb a week.
The average total consumed in crisps, cakes, sweets, chocolate and milky or sugary drinks is equivalent to an additional 50 days’ food intake
And dentists have previously warned that office ‘cake culture’ is fuelling obesity and dental problems – putting people at risk of type II diabetes and tooth decay.
The Kallø research found women consumed at least three snacks during a typical working day.
Crisps are the worst offender
Crisps were named as the top Achilles heel of female workers, with an average of 135 bags eaten at work annually and 45 per cent of those surveyed admitting to having a personal ‘stash’ of them in the office.
A further 39 per cent said they hid away supplies of biscuits.
According to the survey, working women will tuck in to a total of 135 biscuits, 90 slices of cake, 90 packets of sweets and a staggering 45 doughnuts each year.
Consultant dietician Helen Bond said: ‘I’m not surprised by these results but people need to be aware that an extra 3,500 calories a week, or 500 a day, means you put on an extra pound of fat.
‘We live in this kind of grazing society, where we have an abundance of food 24 hours a day. With that comes the desire to snack.’
Mindful about calorie intake
Miss Bond urged people to be ‘mindful’ about calorie intake particularly as the days become colder and the temptation increases to ‘warm up’ with snacks or a hot drink ‘as a kind of comfort’.
‘Consuming things like a gingerbread latte can pack away 400 calories alone and every spoonful of sugar is 20 calories,’ she said.
She added that people snacking at work should ‘compromise’ by eating less at other times of day, exercising more or eating ‘slower release snacks such as nuts or oatcakes which make you feel full for longer’.
The annual total of 100,800 extra calories – based on 45 working weeks – is the same as 1,254 glasses of Prosecco (stock)
Sue Baic, a dietitian and nutritionist at Bristol University, said: ‘It’s really easy to overdo it with snacks if we are bored, stressed or hungry at work.’
Start with a filling breakfast
She urged workers to start the day with a filling breakfast – such as wholegrain cereal, fruit, wholegrain toast or poached eggs – and take a proper lunch break to ensure they do not feel hungry, so are less likely to snack.
Miss Baic added: ‘If you are going to snack choose smaller portions or healthier items like fruit, oatcakes, rice cakes or a small wholemeal pitta, maybe with low fat dip and crudités if you can store in fridge. Or a low calorie fruit yoghurt.
‘Choose drinks like water, sugar free squash or fizzy, tea or herbal tea or coffee without the added creams and syrups. These are where the calories can go in.’
Many women answering the survey appeared keen to shift the blame for overeating – with one in seven highlighting how colleagues brought in snacks and home baked treats.
But perceived healthy snacks also added to the excess calories, with females consuming 45 packets of high fat nuts each year – and a further 45 bags of sugary dried fruits.
When do women snack?
The survey found the most popular times to reach for a snack were 10.30am and 3.30pm.
And as well as food, sugar-laden, milky coffees such as mochas and lattes, fizzy drinks and high-calorie energy drinks were found to be common ‘pick- me-ups’.
Being bored, tired or stressed were the main reasons female workers said they rewarded themselves with treats, despite 83 per cent starting the day with the intention of eating healthily. Some 48 per cent of those quizzed complained they were always too hungry to wait until lunch.
Nearly a quarter of the 1,000 women polled feel bad about themselves after giving in to their snack temptation – but a more laid-back three in ten said ‘life is too short’ to stress about the odd snack.
One in five of the women said they had no will power to abstain from office treats, while three in ten said they end up snacking just because the food is there.
A redeeming factor
One redeeming fact was that 47 per cent of women who answered the survey said they tried to reach for fruit as much as possible, typically eating 180 pieces of fruit over the course of a working year.
Friday was found as the day female workers in the survey were most likely to give in to the lure of sugary treats, followed by Mondays.
Gill Green, marketing director for Kallø, which makes a range of low-calorie snacks such as chocolate-topped rice cakes, said: ‘Women are consuming thousands of extra calories a week through the snacks they eat.’
She urged women to ‘make intelligent food choices’, adding: ‘We don’t think eating sensibly has to mean saying no to all the things you love.’
Friday was found as the day we are most likely to give in to the lure of sugary treats, followed by Mondays.