Women eat extra 100k calories at work

FORGET ladies who lunch – it seems that nowadays it is more likely to be ladies who munch.

A survey has found that snacking in the office really adds up – to an astonishing 100,000 extra calories a year.

This average total consumed annually in crisps, cakes, sweets, chocolate and milky or sugary drinks by women at work is equivalent to an additional 50 days’ food intake.

The indulgence was revealed by a survey of 1,000 women for Dutch organic food maker Kallo. Respondents admitted eating an extra 2,240 calories every week on average – or 100,800 total extra calories over the 45 working weeks in a year.

This is equivalent to 1,254 glasses of prosecco or 502 bars of chocolate.

The research shone a light on women’s snacking secrets – crisps were named as the biggest Achilles’ heel, with an average of 1 5 bags eaten at desks annually, and another 45 per cent admitting to having a personal stash of them in the office. Working women will also tuck into biscuits on 1 5 occasions, as well as devouring 90 slices of cake, 90 packets of sweets and 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

,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.’ Being bored, tired or stressed were the main reasons female workers said they rewarded themselves with treats – despite 8 per cent starting the day with the intention of eating healthily.

However, even perceived healthy snacks added to the excess calories, with women nibbling 45 packets of high fat nuts and 45 bags of sugary dried fruits each year.

But there was one redeeming fact in the survey – 47 per cent said they also tried to reach for fruit, typically eating 180 pieces of fruit over the course of a working year.