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How Dirty Is Your Office? - HER Week In Health

 
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More Videos from Bailey Mosier 30 videos in this series

Millions of people spend eight or more hours inside office buildings, sharing computers, chairs, workstations, restrooms and break rooms. In this week’s edition we ask – and answer – just how dirty are these areas and whose offices – men’s or women’s – are dirtier? We’ll also learn what “The Truman Show” delusion is and that more isn’t necessarily better when it comes to portion size and caloric intake. Check it out!

Hi, I’m Bailey Mosier. This is your EmpowHER HER Week in Health.

Millions of people spend eight or more hours inside office buildings, sharing computers, chairs, workstations, restrooms and break rooms. In this week’s edition we ask – and answer – just how dirty are these areas and whose offices – men’s or women’s – are dirtier? We’ll also learn what “The Truman Show” delusion is and that more isn’t necessarily better when it comes to portion size and caloric intake.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego analyzed the same five surfaces in 45 men’s and 45 women’s offices in San Francisco, New York and Tucson and found over 500 different kinds of bacteria, most of which came from us – from our skin, nose, mouth and intestines.

The team found that offices inhabited by men were consistently more contaminated than offices inhabited by women. They also found that there were more bacteria on chairs and phones, compared with the mouse, desktop and keyboard.

Researchers say men’s offices may be more contaminated than women’s because of differences in hygiene because men are known to wash their hands and brush their teeth less frequently than women. It is also possible that men may shed more bacteria into their surrounding environment because men tend to have a greater skin surface area.

Do you ever wish your life were a reality show or joke that it should be? In what psychiatrists have dubbed “The Truman Show” delusion, turns out some people don’t just think their lives should be a reality show. They think their lives are a reality show.

Two brothers who are professors of psychiatry at New York University and McGill University say that individuals who suffer from mental illness are looking to the reality-TV culture that exists in the U.S. today and are framing their paranoia or schizophrenia around that cultural norm.

The psychiatrists say it’s a condition that is often overlooked in the U.S., but is becoming more common among mentally ill individuals. They’re interested in the way society has changed as a whole, with the advent of reality TV, the Internet and YouTube.

But if you’re a reality TV junkie, no need to fret, simply watching tons of reality TV isn’t the root of this phenomenon.

We all like to get more bang for our buck and most of the time that’s a good thing. But when it comes to portion size and caloric intake, more isn’t necessarily better. Turns out, we’re getting more than ever before.

According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average restaurant meal is four times larger than it was in the 1950s and 96 percent of entrees at chain restaurants exceed dietary guidelines for sodium, fat and saturated fat per meal.

Did you hear that? Portion sizes are four times bigger than just 60 years ago and the average adult is now 26 pounds heavier than in the 1950s. With buffets, all-you-can eat attitudes and super-sized marketing campaigns, it’s easy to overindulge. But please, be conscious of what – and how much – you’re putting in your mouth.

That wraps up your EmpowHER HER Week in Health. Join me here at EmpowHER every Friday as we recap the latest in women’s health.

Add a Comment2 Comments

My office isn't too bad off. My male boss on the other hand, now that's a whole different story.
I've offered to clean it for him it seems like a thousand times, but he always tells me he'll fire me if I move "one thing".
It definitely needs a good purging...

June 9, 2012 - 3:30pm
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Is this really that surprising about men vs women?

http://www.drperrone.com

June 8, 2012 - 5:09pm
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