The concept of “teleworking” is growing more and more in popularity. So much work is done online now that it is very possible for many people to accomplish their work all in the confines of their own homes. There is so much wasted time involved in commuting in traffic to a physical office. The use of video conferencing also allows for virtual “meetings” as opposed to sitting in a conference room.
If people are able to eliminate 2 hours a day of commuting, this would seem to allow for LOTS more time available for personal attention. Two hours (assuming there would have been an hour commute each way to an office, especially in a major metropolitan area such as ours) is a pretty good amount of time. If one hour of this were focused on weight control efforts, this would produce a major impact on the chances of long-term success. Planning meals, exercise, preparing meals and other “weight control” activities could become a standard operating procedure of every work day.
Are people that telework from their homes displaying less BMIs than same age/sex people that still commute to an office setting? I have not seen any statistics on this but I would bet that the answer is “no”. Being at home presents a number of different weight control challenges such as being around your own kitchen/pantry with perhaps not such great foods available. Additionally, when people are home alone, knowing there is less scrutiny by others often allows for more self-gratifying behaviors.
For those of you teleworking from the confines of your own home: Look in the mirror and ask yourself the question: Am I using this convenience in ways that are helping my weight control efforts or am I not taking advantage of this opportunity? If your answer is the latter and not the former, then take the steps needed to correct this situation.