Dive Brief:

• The perils of sitting have been long extolled, and new data seems to confirm some fears. A recent survey found that 55% of U.S. workers feel they are overweight, and 44% say they've gained weight in their current job.
• Twenty-five percent reported gaining more than 10 pounds, while 17% actually reported losing weight, according to CareerBuilder's survey done in Q1 of 2016 of 3,031 full-time workers ages 18 and over.
• When asked what they felt contributed to their weight gain, 53% said "sitting at the desk most of the day," 45% said they are "too tired from work to exercise," and 36% of workers said they are "eating because of stress."

Dive Insight:

The survey results indicate a strong association between on-the-job stress and workers who report being overweight. Fewer than half of workers (41%) with extremely low stress levels feel they are overweight compared to 77% of workers with extremely high stress levels. Translation: workers who say they have extremely high on-the-job stress are 53% more likely to say they're overweight than workers who say they have extremely low stress.

Rosemary Haefner, CHRO for CareerBuilder, said workers are becoming more health conscious but due to higher stress, longer work days and constant multi-tasking, find it more difficult to find time to act on wellness goals. The data supports that idea: while 25% of employees have access to wellness benefits, including onsite workout facilities and gym passes, 55% of that group does not take advantage.

So how did that 17% manage to lose weight at work? They reported tending to snack and eat out less, exercise more and take advantage of wellness benefits.