Working from home could be bad for your health as young adults who do it may get half an hour less exercise per day.
A study of people starting their first job got an extra 28 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, such as walking or cycling.
But those working from home saw an average 32-minute drop in their moderate physical activity.
To judge how starting work affected people’s physical activity, sleep and diet, researchers looked at young adults in the UK – aged 16 to 30 – who took part in a national household survey.
These volunteers reported their employment status every year and, every three years, were asked how much exercise they got in a typical week.
This included moderate physical activity, such as cycling, as well as vigorous physical activity like heavy lifting or aerobics.
Researchers compared 128 people who worked from home with more than 3,000 who went to an office or other workplace.
The fall in physical activity for people working at home, based on the analysis, was the equivalent of 32 minutes of moderate activity a day, or 16 minutes of vigorous activity a day.
Those starting their first job in a work from home role saw an average 32-minute drop in their moderate physical activity, according to a new study in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Meanwhile new entrants to the job market who worked outside the home got an extra 28 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, such as walking or cycling
Researchers compared 128 people who worked from home with more than 3,000 who went to an office or other workplace
The rise in physical activity among young adults generally was mainly seen in those in semi-routine jobs, like bus drivers and hairdressers, and people in routine jobs like cleaners and waiters, as well as people in technical jobs.
There was little change seen among people entering managerial or professional occupations.
The results are published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
Dr Eleanor Winpenny, who was senior author of the study at the University of Cambridge, and is now at Imperial College London, said: ‘If we want to stay healthy throughout our lives, we need to remember that keeping active is an important way of helping us achieve this goal.
‘Those working at home might want to consider incorporating physical activity into their day, for example by going for a walk before or after work, or during a lunch break.’
Alena Oxenham, co-author of the study from the University of Cambridge, said: ‘Beginning work can have a profound impact on our lifestyles and on behaviours that might make a difference to our health, if not immediately then later in life.
‘Although we found that people tend to do more physical activity when they begin work, which is good news, these are averages, and some people – particularly those who work from home and, to a lesser degree, those with office-based jobs – may do less.’
The rise in physical activity among young adults starting out in the workforce was mainly seen in those in semi-routine jobs, like bus drivers and hairdressers, and people in routine jobs like cleaners and waiters, as well as people in technical jobs
The study found there was little change in physical activity among people entering managerial or professional occupations
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
