I recently came across this article and it got me thinking....
Brown-bagging it is better
Students who eat lunches made at home and eschew school cafeteria food are less likely to suffer from obesity, says a University of Alberta researcher. Paul Veugelers, co-author of the study published September 13 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that children who eat regularly and eat home-cooked food with their families are on the road toward developing healthy habits. Research found that students who buy lunch at school are 47 per cent more likely to have weight problems than students who bring lunch from home, and students who regularly eat their meals in front of the TV run the risk of becoming overweight. The study surveyed 4,000 Nova Scotia students.
I wonder how true this is for adults too. I almost always bring my lunch from home. I take care to make lunch for both hubby and I each night before bed in order to have it ready to go in the am. Neither of us are obese (although I could stand to lose about 15 pounds) I have noticed many over weight people in my office, they are often eating lunch from the food court. Are they just not inclined, uninspired or don't want to pack a lunch? Is it too hard or time consuming to make something to take with? I guess if it were up to hubby he would be buying lunch daily but I do know he would probably try to get the healthiest alternative... Why would some people choose to buy an unhealthy lunch rather than make something at home and bring it to work with them? Just the time it takes to go to the food court or local restaurant, order lunch and eat it, plus the added costs of eating out everyday is a major deterrent for me! I guess if you look at it from another stand point- i could be called the "lazy" one- i don't want to get off my butt and run downstairs, out the door and over to the mall to buy my meal during my 30 minute lunch break- i prefer to relax at my desk or outside on a bench on a nice day and enjoy my "picnic" :)
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I eat lunch out every day. Of course...you already know this.
ReplyDeleteI am not lazy...I work my ass off at work and at home. Which is why I enjoy the break that eating lunch out gives me. My least favorite part of running a home and family is figuring out what I am going to do for dinner every evening (the whole thing; decided what to make, making sure I have the ingredients on hand, preparing it, cleaning up afterwards). I have no deisre to add yet another meal to this unbeloved chore of mine-nor do I want to decide what I will eat for lunch based on what I felt like making the night before.
I eat out with my co-workers, and enjoy not only the meal out, but the social aspect of it, since my busy life does not leave me an awful lot of time for socializing outside of work.
No one in our "lunch group" is obese or close to it. It is more than possible to eat healthily and still eat out...or to balance your other meals to make room for this indulgance (what I tend to do-though I try to do a bit of both). There is far more to being obese than whether not not one eats lunch out. I am sure these overweight co-workers of yours are not overweight simply because they eat lunch out everyday...it is also what they eat, and thier lifestyles in general.
Kids are a while different soty...school cafeterias are not known for their healthy fare, and kids do not really have the impulse control to make healthy choices when other options are available (espcially if all their friends are eating those other options) so I am sure that kids that bring thier lunch are less likely to be obese.
yeah i just can't imagine spending my whole lunch break battling the crowds every single day. I get 30 minutes for lunch and it is really crucial to be back on time for us. That is 5 minutes for the elevator to come up, 5-10 minutes at the food court, and another 5 to get back upstairs...that's a whole 5 minutes to eat lunch!
ReplyDeletethe added cost of eating out everyday doesn't appeal to me either.
I like bringing my lunch as i can snack healthily throughout the day rather than roaming over to the "snack table" at the back of the team!
To each their own...i just prefer it my way :)
When I was working in an office, I would usually bring leftovers- primarily because there wasn't any food establishments nearby. Which likely didn't hurt my pocketbook. Then they opened a Timmy's downstairs and I had to at least have my coffee and some treat at some point in the day. Despite having free coffee in the office, I still had to have my Timmy fix.
ReplyDeleteI find being off it does get expensive if I'm out with the girlie at the mall -even at the foodcourt. So I usually try to eat before we go out, so I only have to grab a snack/coffee for myself if we happen to be out. A buck or two here and there I can handle. But the meals aren't cheap - usually at least $10 a pop by the time you add a drink. Can't do that everyday!
I can see Fancy momma's point too - especially when there are so many options around.
Yeah i still make my way over to Tim's for a coffee when i don't have time to make a pot in the morning. I do like to go for lunch once in a while- maybe once every 3 weeks or so- really when i haven't had a chance to restock on lunch meat or tuna...i guess if i had more disposable income and fast food was less pricey i may eat out mre but i also know that if i did that i'd feel (and look) a lot worse than i do now!
ReplyDeleteThinking about it now i wonder if i'd eat out more if i had more time and $$!! Probably not :)