What has working from home done to our diets?

Office lunches: the bad old days?

Before the pandemic, office life left many of us at the mercy of overpriced meal deals, vending machines, and a rushed lunch break. Research shows only 37 per cent of European workers took a full lunch break when working on-site, while 10 per cent of UK workers skip their lunch breaks altogether.

Data suggests that office lunches can lean heavily on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) – quick and convenient, but low in nutritional value. One survey found that as many as 17 per cent of workers in the UK consider themselves addicted to UPFs at work, largely because of stress and convenience, with these options being widely available in the workplace.

However, the data is mixed, and it’s up in the air whether the move toward WFH has enabled us to improve our health in the lunch hour or whether new problems have arisen.

In the US, a 2023 survey suggests that workers are 40 per cent more likely to skip lunch than they were a year prior, with almost half reporting that they skip lunch at least once a week. Having back-to-back remote meetings was one of the reasons reported for not having lunch.

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) has highlighted challenges associated with home working, noting that it's easy to lose track of time and skip lunch when lacking the visual prompts from colleagues.

The shift to home cooking

Working from home has undoubtedly shifted the dynamic at lunchtime. In many cases, people now have access to their own kitchen, their own fridge and more control over what goes on their plate. That’s resulted in more home-cooked meals – at least some of the time.

An analysis of worldwide research during the pandemic suggested vastly different patterns emerging from different countries, such as increased fruit and vegetable consumption in Italy, Spain and South America, and a decrease in consumption of fruit, vegetables and lean proteins with an increase in processed meat and refined grains in the USA, and an overall reduction of fresh produce intake in China.

So it’s not all steamed broccoli and sourdough starters. While WFH offers more autonomy, it can also increase exposure to, and consumption of, calorie-dense foods, especially when boundaries between work and home blur. Having a fridge two steps from your desk can be both a blessing and a curse.

Interestingly, the Global Eating at Work Survey found that 67 per cent of hybrid workers make efforts to eat more healthily on days they are in the office and seek more guidance and support from employers to maintain healthy eating habits.

Jo Redmond, who works mostly from home in the UK, says: “I eat much healthier meals; homemade soups for lunch and balanced dinners. But I do find snacking hard as it’s all just there waiting for me!”

Snack attacks

So let’s talk snacks. When the vending machine is replaced by your pantry, are we more or less likely to indulge?

Despite research on home-cooked food intake among home workers varying dramatically depending on research paper and location, making it difficult to detect trends, one trend has been consistent in the literature and that is the increased consumption of sugary and high-fat snacks, backed by both large-scale global data, and small-scale qualitative research. Gen Z had the biggest uptake of snacking in the UK, averaging four snacks per day when working from home, often substituting main meals for snacks.

Unstructured workdays and stress can make us graze more than we realise. One of the biggest changes I see in my nutrition clinic is that people feel constantly ‘on’, so they snack more to break up the day or to cope with boredom, stress and fatigue. But if you’re regularly reaching for quick sugar fixes or caffeine, that’s often a sign your overall routine needs rethinking, especially your sleep, movement and meal composition.

In the US, emotional eating was also reported more frequently among those working from home, especially during the pandemic’s peak. However, this has started to stabilise as people find more sustainable routines.

Janine Ryan, an NHS worker in the UK, says her eating habits vary by environment. “If I’ve not packed a lunch, it’s a meal deal or samosas. At home, I’m more likely to take a break and make something healthy. Snack-wise, it’s more about workload – if I’m busy, I don’t snack much.”

Are we healthier now?

So, is this all good news for public health? Not entirely, though the data is mixed.

A 2023 Public Health Wales report noted that as of late 2022, about 30.4 per cent of the Welsh workforce primarily worked from home, a significant increase from the pre-pandemic figure of 12.4 per cent. While eating patterns were not specifically discussed, people did report a more sedentary lifestyle as a result of working from home, and almost half reported a decline in mental wellbeing linked to loneliness and isolation.

Contrary to the Welsh report, the Global Eating at Work Survey suggested that people who work from home are more likely to exercise during the day, unwind more thoroughly during breaks and spend time outdoors, which suggests there are more complex factors at play, such as health inequalities marked by social determinants of health.

Comparing pre- and post-pandemic obesity statistics, in the UK, the most recent data shows that 26.5 per cent of adults are obese, with women (26.9 per cent) slightly more affected than men (26.2 per cent). In the US, rates are even higher, with over 40 per cent of adults reportedly being obese. In England, 64.5 per cent of adults are overweight or obese – a figure that’s risen slightly from 64 per cent pre-pandemic in 2019. Interestingly, while the overall obesity rate has declined since before the pandemic (especially among women), the rise in people classified as overweight has been driven entirely by men.

These shifts may reflect changing behaviours, or perhaps the growing use of weight loss medications. One recent survey suggests that more than one in 10 UK women may be using weight loss jabs, raising questions about how medical interventions might be shaping public health trends.

Remote work may support better food choices for some, but it doesn’t guarantee them. Food insecurity, stress and loneliness can all impact how, and what, we eat. As the Wales report warns, home-working can exacerbate inequalities, especially for those living alone or without adequate kitchen facilities.

And while some enjoy leisurely omelettes between video calls, others are skipping meals altogether. A 2024 review of the evidence found that some people may be eating less frequently at home – not because of discipline, but due to workload, stress or social isolation.

Final thoughts

In short, working from home has changed the way we eat, but not always in predictable ways. For some, it’s meant fresher food, more home cooking and fewer impulse lunches. For others, it’s increased snacking, irregular mealtimes, isolation and even more sedentary hours.

The biggest takeaway? Our eating habits are tightly tied to our routines, environments and sense of wellbeing. As remote work continues to evolve, so too will our relationships with food.

Further reading

Why stress makes you hungry
Stress relief: How diet and lifestyle can help
What is burnout?
10 ways to manage your appetite

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