Is your current job making you fat? How can you reverse the situation without having to leave the position? A new CareerBuilder survey finds that 57% of the nation's workforce believe they are overweight, and 45% believe they've gained weight at their present job, on par with last year. Twenty-​six percent of all workers said they gained more than 10 pounds at their current job; 1 in 10 (11%) gained more than 20 pounds.

The nationwide survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from April 4 to May 1, 2018 among a representative sample of 1,117 full-​time workers across industries and company sizes in the U.S, including 1,012 in the private sector.

Many factors can have a positive or negative impact on a worker's waistline. When surveyed about what they think contributes to weight gain at work, workers who have gained weight said:

• Sitting at a desk most of the day (53%)
• Too tired from work to exercise (49%)
• Eating because of stress (41%)
• No time to exercise before or after work (34%)
• The temptation of the office candy jar (21%)
• Eating out regularly (21 percent)
• Workplace celebrations (13%)
• Having to skip meals because of time constraints (12%)
• Happy hours (6%)
• Pressure to eat food co-​workers bring in (6%)

Step it Up at Least Four Days a Week

Despite more than a third of workers who have gained weight at their present jobs saying they're too tired or don't have time to exercise, the majority of U.S. workers (58%) say they exercise on a regular basis. While 63% of workers in the West say they exercise on a regular basis, 59% of those in the South, 56% in the Northeast and 53% in the Midwest say the same.

Americans who don't feel they have a lot of free time may find exercising in their home is more convenient than going to a gym. According to AudienceSCAN, 7.5% of U.S. adults are Home Exercise Equipment Shoppers who plan to buy such equipment this year. Most (44.6%) are between the ages of 25 and 44, 37.3% live in a metropolitan area and 30.2% are members of fitness clubs or gyms.

But what does "on a regular basis" mean to Americans, and how much exercise is actually helping them lose weight? Nearly three in 10 (29%) regularly work out three or fewer days a week, and 29% regularly work out four or more days a week. Consistency is key: 26% of U.S. workers who regularly work out four or more days a week say they lost weight at their present job, compared to 12% of those who regularly work out three or fewer days a week.

Forty-​two percent of workers don't work out regularly or at all, and 48% of this group say they gained weight at their current job.

Bringing Food into Work May Help Prevent Weight Gain

Exercise isn't the only key to losing weight. As they say, you are what you eat. Nearly a quarter (23%) of U.S. workers eat out at least three times per week for lunch instead of packing their lunch. Eleven percent of workers find their grub from the vending machine at least once a week. Workers are then taking their meals back to their desks; 63% eat from their workstation.

According to AudienceSCAN, it's a personal goal of 61.4% of Home Exercise Equipment Shoppers to eat healthier this year. Nearly 44% would like to try new cooking recipes and 42.5% are willing to pay more for healthy or organic food.

But lunch isn't the only time the U.S. workforce is eating. Workers are munching away most of the day: 72% of workers snack on the job.

Retailers can promote the ease of losing weight from the comfort of a consumer's own home through TV ads. Last year, according to AudienceSCAN, 74.5% of Home Exercise Equipment Shoppers took action after seeing an ad on TV, which is also where 47% get most of their local news. Nearly 67% of this audience took action after receiving ads or coupons in the mail last year. This audience is also 51% more likely than other adults to take action after seeing a pre-​roll video ad.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.