Senior Dentist Warns of ‘Office Cake Culture’ Impact
One of the UK’s leading dentists has warned the public about the impact of the ‘office cake culture’.
Professor Nigel Hunt, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons, said that bringing cakes to work for birthdays, engagements, anniversaries or simply to celebrate the end of the week, could have a damaging impact on general and dental health.
Speaking at an annual dinner for dentists, Professor Hunt said that indulging at work was causing people to gain weight and increasing their risk of dental health problems and diabetes. Instead of workplace temptations, Professor Hunt advised bringing fruit, nuts and healthy snacks to work.
Addressing the audience, Professor Hunt said that bosses want to reward their workforce with cakes and boxes of chocolate and colleagues want to bring in treats for special occasions, but this is contributing to an epidemic of obesity, dental troubles and diabetes. For many, eating at work makes up the majority of their daily sugar consumption.
Professor Hunt also said that the office cake culture is making it tough for those who want to make healthier choices and lose weight to do so. If you’re trying to diet and people are turning up with boxes of cupcakes and tins of biscuits, it’s much harder to stay on a healthy eating regime.
He did stress that he wasn’t suggesting that cakes be banned, but insisted that smaller portions and less frequent consumption would be beneficial.
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