How Workplace Stress Could Be Changing the Way You Eat

A Lot on Your Plate: Most of us want to eat healthier, but the best intentions and even best-laid plans often fall short when it comes to our diets. While a lack of willpower is often blamed, new research has pinpointed why our work environment may have more impact on our eating patterns than just our personal choices.

The Study: Researchers wanted to investigate the relationship among people’s eating habits, nutritional knowledge, and stress. They used a mixed-method design to survey 232 university employees in Saudi Arabia. Most of them had a medium to high level of nutrition knowledge, but many of them also made poor dietary choices: skipping meals, inadequate consumption of fruit and vegetables, and eating at irregular times. 

The Takeaway: Higher nutritional knowledge correlated with healthier eating patterns. Higher stress levels were associated with the poor dietary choices — particularly not eating enough fruit and vegetables. Researchers say the findings shift focus from willpower and personal responsibility and onto workplace stress and its effect on our diet and overall health, citing a few specific culprits: back-to-back meetings, heavy workloads, and limited access to healthy foods. 

Keep in Mind: Data was self-reported and established a correlation, not causation, among diet and workplace stress.