Telecommuting from home might be detrimental to your health as young adults who do it may get 30 minutes less exercise per day.
Research into people starting their first job found they received an extra 28 minutes daily of moderate physical activity, like walking or cycling.
surpassed an average of 32 minutes of increased moderate physical activity.
To determine how starting a job impacts individuals' physical activity, sleep, and eating habits, researchers investigated young adults in the UK, aged 16 to 30, who participated in a national household study.
These volunteers reported their employment status annually and, every three years, were inquired about their physical activity levels over an average week.
This included moderate physical effort, such as cycling, as well as vigorous physical exertion like heavy lifting or aerobics.
Researchers compared 128 individuals who worked from home with over 3,000 who went to an office or other workplace.
The reduction in physical activity for individuals working from home, as analyzed, corresponds to a decrease of 32 minutes of moderate physical activity daily, or 16 minutes of vigorous physical activity daily.
The increase in physical activity among young adults was primarily noted among those in semi-routine jobs, such as bus drivers and hairdressers, as well as individuals in routine occupations, including cleaners and waiters, and also those in technical fields.
There was only a slight change observed in the number of individuals moving into managerial or professional positions.
The results are published in the Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
As maintained by Dr Eleanor Winpenny, formerly a senior author of the University of Cambridge study and now at Imperial College London, "If we wish to remain healthy throughout our lives, it is vital to understand that continued physical activity can significantly contribute to our long-term well-being."
‘Remote workers may wish to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine; for example, they can go for a walk before or after work or during a mid-day break.’
Alena Oxenham from the University of Cambridge stated: “Starting work can have a significant influence on our daily lives and behaviors that could potentially affect our health, even if not immediately, later on in life.”
‘Although we found that people tend to be more physically active at the beginning of their workday, which is a positive finding, these results are averages, and some individuals – particularly those who work from home and, to a slightly lesser extent, those with office-based jobs – may engage in less physical activity.’
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