Return to office could make you fat, lead to drinking problem: study

Don’t file this under “perks at work.”

A study shows that going to and from the office can actually be atrocious for your health.

“A lengthy commute to work is associated with being less physically active, being overweight, and having sleep problems,” wrote researchers from Stockholm University.

“And, depending on where your office is located, you may also be more likely to drink in excess.”

It takes a shockingly short travel distance for a person to feel these effects, according to researchers.

“We found that commutes of more than [about two miles] increased the likelihood of being physically inactive and overweight, and of having poor sleep,” they wrote.

“People who worked more than 40 hours and commuted more than five hours each week were more likely to be physically inactive and experience sleep problems, compared with times when they only commuted one-to-five hours a week.”

The study looked at the responses of nearly 13,000 Swedes, between the ages of 16 to 64, in four surveys taken in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Those whose commutes were within the near two-mile range were observed to be “more physically active.”

“This could be because this distance made it easier to commute by bicycle or foot to work — or because a shorter commute gave participants time before and after work to exercise.”

In regard to drinking habits, an office in “a high socioeconomic status area” made it “more likely” for them to be troublesome.

Participants in the study reported they often felt the need to cut down on their drinking in addition to many who were “drinking first thing in the morning either to steady their nerves or cope with a hangover.”

“We also found that when a person’s workplace was located near a bar, they were more likely to have harmful drinking habits,” the researchers noted.

The team proposed further research and analysis of the strain of commuting, among other connected quality-of-life issues beyond the borders of their Scandinavian nation.

“It will be important to investigate these factors, alongside whether our results are similar for people living in different regions of the world.”