If you bring it, they will eat

Chicago Tribune: If your office is anything like ours -- and we suspect every office is -- there's a floating smorgasbord of food available almost any hour of the day or night. This is not just from vending machines or the company cafeteria, even though those are prime sources. No, we're talking about all the food that our fellow employees so thoughtfully bring in to share, setting up spreads wherever there's a free desk surface and a cluster of hungry colleagues.
The favorites include things baked expressly for the office, but also, truth be told, gifts like the neighbor's overly sweet chocolate chip cookies or a spouse's slightly misguided pumpkin bread that fell a bit short of nirvana. Holidays like Halloween bring an avalanche of leftover candy; Christmas tends to yield a surfeit of cakes, pistachio nuts and tins of popcorn.
Such largess is usually welcome, and those who bring the feast to the office are often lauded. Now a confession: Many of us tote these confections to the office so we don't eat too much of the stuff at home. The belief -- supported by years of empirical evidence-- is that no matter what it is, if you bring it, they will eat it. Got a nice gift basket full of highly caloric goodies, which, if left at home, will certainly disappear into that great maw known as your mouth? Take it to the office.
Irresistible combination
There's something about the stress of work and free food that forms an irresistible combination, tempting even the strongest-willed dieters.
It is so alluring, in fact, that the American Dietetic Association has issued a warning to those who find it hard to resist such blandishments, whether from a personal stash or thoughtful colleagues. Their message: stop and think. Your office may be helping make you fat.
In a recent ADA survey, some seven in 10 office workers said that there was food shared at the office at least once a week, such as desserts, cheese, crackers and chips. That's one potential dietary disaster. The other: Those who eat at their desks are more likely to consume more without even realizing it, according to David Grotto of the ADA.