Keeping Weight Off In Office Jobs

Almost half of office workers say they've put on weight since they started their current jobs.

They report their perceptions in a new survey on CareerBuilder.com.

For 1-in-5, the gain was 10 pounds or more.

Among others, 57 percent of government workers reported bigger waistlines, 54 percent of IT workers, and 53 percent of accounting/finance workers, compared to 35 percent of retail workers and 39 percent of sales workers.

In other words, not surprisingly, people with sedentary jobs report weight gain in larger numbers.

But can it be avoided?

On The Early Show Tuesday, Neal Pire, a fitness consultant and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, suggested that it can.

He said all our efforts, however small, add up, and help keep us healthier.

He pointed out to co-anchor Harry Smith that there once was a time that when, if we wanted to confer with a co-worker in the office, we would get up, go to that person's office and speak face to face. But with computers, e-mail, instant messaging and other technology-driven conveniences, we are doing ever more work at our offices without ever getting up from our chairs.

The faster technology moves, says Pire, the more slowly we do.So, says Pire, we need to make up for the inactivity with as much movement as possible, both before and after work, and as best we can during the workday.

That means walking up a couple of flights of stairs to your office when your day starts. If you're on a high floor, you don't need to walk up all the way. Consider taking the elevator to, say, two floors below your office, then walking up the rest of the way.

If you drive to work, park a small distance away, so you have to walk a few minutes to get to the office.

If you take a bus, get off a stop or two before or after the stop that is closest.

And once at work, start walking again to see your colleagues face to face, rather than e-mailing, instant messaging or calling. Walk to see your colleagues, then to the copy machine, etc., so you move around a bit.

During lunch, walk to a place a block or two away instead of going to the company cafeteria or the place right next door to the office.

Or, instead of buying lunch, think of brown-bagging it. That way, you can control your portion sizes and the nutritional quality of the ingredients. After all, do you really know what the restaurant or deli is putting in the food? It may be very fattening.

From time to time, some people try to devise small exercises to do at their desks, such as finger pushups or jogging in place while on the phone. Those exercises have their place, but many workers ultimately shy away for fear of looking foolish to their coworkers.

Also, some companies supply gym facilities for their personnel. But workers can become self-conscious about the impression they are giving their bosses. For instance: If they spend time in the gym, they must not be working.

So, Pire says that measures such as additional walk for work purposes, and his dietary suggestions, are the ones that will pay off best.

He also says losing weight this way is a marathon, not a sprint. It won't happen immediately, but if you make a conscious effort, this added activity may be habit-forming, and ultimately beneficial.