Here's another reason to carry your own lunch to office. Eating regularly in the cafeteria or snacking out in the vicinity may not be the best call for those who are looking to lose weight claimed a new study. Doing so may topple your recommended calorie intake by a whopping number, warn the researchers. Food and snacks at workplace tend to contain high amount of sodium and refined grains, calories and very little whole grains and fruit, leading to unhealthy eating putting you at risk of various disease including cancer, revealed the findings of a new study presented at the Nutrition 2018 meeting held in Boston.
The study included data from 5,222 employees from a US firm. The revelations made in the study have taken many corporate workers by shock. According to the study, that nearly a quarter had food from work at least once a week and that the average weekly calories obtained was almost 1,300.
The study found that these foods are high in empty calories -- those from solid fats and/or added sugars -- with more than 70 per cent of the calories coming from food that was obtained for free.
"Our results suggest that the foods people get from work do not align well with the recommendations in the dietary guidelines," said Stephen Onufrak, epidemiologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"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," he suggested.
Researchers believe that workplaces can help promote healthier food options. Employers could help their employees eat better at work by using worksite wellness programs to promote healthy options that are also appealing.
Ensuring that foods in cafeterias or vending machines follow food service guidelines would also be of great help.
"Worksite wellness programmes have the potential to reach millions of working people and have been shown to be effective at changing health behaviours among employees, reducing employee absenteeism and reducing health care costs," Onufrak said.
Here are some healthy office snacks you can keep around yourself to keep hunger pangs at bay
1. Healthy Digestive BiscuitsDitch the sugary cookies with healthy cookies made with ingredients like atta, ragi or oats. Not only are they more nutritious than their maida counterparts but their high fibre content gives you a feeling of fullness, thereby preventing you to binge on other fattening snacks. And you don't need to empty entire packets of these - just 1 or 2 of ragi biscuits can keep hunger at bay.
2. Nutty Trail MixGrab hold of a mason jar, add some roasted puffed rice or oats and toss in some of your favourite dry fruits, seeds nuts and raisins. Keep the jar at your desk and munch on when hunger strikes.
3. Cucumber SticksBite into crunchy sticks of cucumber each time cravings hit. Cucumber not only gives your mouth an instant kick of freshness, but the chewing action also takes your attention away from fattening or sugar laden snacks. Saves calories and money.
4. Granola BarsEasy to prepare, easy to store and long-lasting, homemade granola is one of the best office snacks out there. Follow this easy recipe for a healthy snack that you can munch on, any time.
These low calorie dishes would ensure that your calorie load is in check, while preventing you fro from bingeing on something fatty, refined and sugary.
(With inputs IANS)