Energy balance
A secular decline in occupation-related physical activity (reducing daily energy expenditure by >100 kcal) has significantly contributed to the increase in mean U.S. body weight over the last 50 years.
Your job is likely costing you weight control. Since 1960, U.S. jobs have become significantly less physically demanding, burning over 100 fewer calories per day on average. To maintain your weight, you must consciously incorporate physical activity outside of work that matches this deficit (e.g., 150 minutes of moderate activity per week), as your workplace is no longer doing it for you.
Over the last 50 years in the U.S. we estimate that daily occupation-related energy expenditure has decreased by more than 100 calories, and this reduction in energy expenditure accounts for a significant portion of the increase in mean U.S. body weights for women and men.
Why this rating
Uses nationally representative longitudinal data (NHANES, BLS) and a validated energy balance model, though it is an observational ecological analysis rather than a controlled trial.
Source
Trends over 5 Decades in U.S. Occupation-Related Physical Activity and Their Associations with Obesity
Timothy S. Church et al. · PLoS ONE · 2011
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0019657
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