Every office has them: the woman constantly peddling cake or the one who only ever nibbles on raw carrots. But could their unhealthy attitude to food be more insidious than you imagine?
Bridget, the 41-year-old managing director of an advertising agency, is scoffing a piece of Toblerone at 8am. ‘When people go on holiday they always bring back chocolates for the office,’ she explains, passing the bar to her assistant, who also takes a piece. ‘I usually have muesli for breakfast.’
Across town Meg, a 28-year-old graphic designer, is in a breakfast meeting – watching a plate of croissants. Her client is explaining changes in a brand’s logo, but Meg’s mind is on food.
Having munched her way through two croissants, she’s tempted to indulge in another one. But she’s waiting for someone else to dive in first. ‘If another girl takes one, it’ll be OK for me to have one, too,’ she tells me later. ‘Otherwise, I’ll look greedy.’
Women might think that they eat when they’re hungry, but few of us actually do. ‘Eating habits are contagious,’ says the psychotherapist and writer Susie Orbach.
