Kinael
04-14-2004, 02:09 PM
I swear, I'm not a health-nut. I just post these as they come in my readings <_<
The article is actually more on office-space conditions, but since we all eventually go to work, I thought why not. Plus I think many of us work near the computer anyway. Refer to your parents if this concerns them:
The only thing as unhealthy as skipping lunch at the office is eating it there. There's no time to order "roti de porc" from "Le Meatlery" counter in the cafeteria. So, you dine at your desk in a synthetic workplace hostile to basic human needs. And there you face, if not foster, biohazards.
Consider that the desktop surrounding you has 400 times as much bacteria per skuzzy square inch as the toilet seat; the keyboard and mouse have 67 times and 34 times as much bacteria, respectively. So says Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona. The difference, he says, is that someone cleans the toilet. "Basically what you have in an office is an unregulated restaurant," says Prof. Gerba. "We've turned our desks into bacteria cafeterias."
...
In a 2003 study, the American Dietetic Association found that 67% of workers eat lunch at their desks, while 61% snack there throughout the day. Just about everyone has a private stash, except for the Office Moochers who make up 16% of the workers, according to another study.
...
WITH SO MUCH unhealthy food for thoughtlessness, it's not surprising people's judgment is clouded and they start to overestimate the value of free Girl Scout cookies or vast tins of variety popcorn. According to the ADA study, shared food appears at least once a week in 70% of offices. Though more than two-thirds of the food is left out more than two hours, the majority of people feel comfortable eating it.
...
When Prof. Gerba, the microbiologist, is at work, he uses disposable coffee cups and disinfectant wipes, and holds any borrowed phone, the worst bacterial offender, a safe distance from his head. Since he has been doing studies, he says, he no longer eats at his desk. "I got paranoid," he admits.
*... indicates a cut from the article
source: Apr 14, 2004. pg. B.1 of Wall Street Journal, "Desktop-Diner Menu: The Good, the Bad And the Getting Ugly"
The article is actually more on office-space conditions, but since we all eventually go to work, I thought why not. Plus I think many of us work near the computer anyway. Refer to your parents if this concerns them:
The only thing as unhealthy as skipping lunch at the office is eating it there. There's no time to order "roti de porc" from "Le Meatlery" counter in the cafeteria. So, you dine at your desk in a synthetic workplace hostile to basic human needs. And there you face, if not foster, biohazards.
Consider that the desktop surrounding you has 400 times as much bacteria per skuzzy square inch as the toilet seat; the keyboard and mouse have 67 times and 34 times as much bacteria, respectively. So says Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona. The difference, he says, is that someone cleans the toilet. "Basically what you have in an office is an unregulated restaurant," says Prof. Gerba. "We've turned our desks into bacteria cafeterias."
...
In a 2003 study, the American Dietetic Association found that 67% of workers eat lunch at their desks, while 61% snack there throughout the day. Just about everyone has a private stash, except for the Office Moochers who make up 16% of the workers, according to another study.
...
WITH SO MUCH unhealthy food for thoughtlessness, it's not surprising people's judgment is clouded and they start to overestimate the value of free Girl Scout cookies or vast tins of variety popcorn. According to the ADA study, shared food appears at least once a week in 70% of offices. Though more than two-thirds of the food is left out more than two hours, the majority of people feel comfortable eating it.
...
When Prof. Gerba, the microbiologist, is at work, he uses disposable coffee cups and disinfectant wipes, and holds any borrowed phone, the worst bacterial offender, a safe distance from his head. Since he has been doing studies, he says, he no longer eats at his desk. "I got paranoid," he admits.
*... indicates a cut from the article
source: Apr 14, 2004. pg. B.1 of Wall Street Journal, "Desktop-Diner Menu: The Good, the Bad And the Getting Ugly"