
Why Is Startup Culture So Unhealthy? - benackles
http://nickoneill.com/startup-culture-unhealthy/
======
earbitscom
This is not just startup culture, it's most professional gatherings in
general. Go to a conference of any kind, other than one that's in some sort of
health/fitness-related industry and you're bound to see the same thing.

The primary reasons are:

1\. The average person eats pretty poorly, and would consider carrot sticks
and fruit smoothies pretty crappy "free food" for an event. Cooking
particularly healthy food that can pass as exciting for most people would be
prohibitively expensive. Food ordered in bulk or made economically for a lot
of people tends to be less healthy.

2\. Drinking at networking events is "necessary" for most people who have a
difficult time approaching and engaging with strangers without a little social
lubricant. Plus, free drinks draws a crowd, whereas networking only partially
does.

3\. These events are often an opportunity for otherwise unsocial people to get
out of the house, chat with others, and indulge a little. For some,
particularly people with spouses and kids, it's the only time they get to
drink more than a beer with dinner and not feel like they're doing something
they shouldn't be. It's supposed to be as much fun as it is work, and eating
pizza and drinking beer is fun.

As for the food being served at startups and the overeating it causes, that's
just human nature. Let people eat whatever they want, and many will eat too
much. Limit them, and they'll think less of your perk.

~~~
michaelt

      This is not just startup culture, it's most professional 
      gatherings in general. Go to a conference of any kind, 
      other than one that's in some sort of health/fitness-
      related industry and you're bound to see the same thing.
    

I have to disagree with you here.

Most conferences and catered meetings I've been to outside of the tech sector
have employed corporate catering companies who supply the sort of buffets you
see here:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=conference+catering&tbm=...](https://www.google.com/search?q=conference+catering&tbm=isch)
you know, finger food, sandwiches, little tart type things, quiche, fruit,
salmon wrap thingies, miscellaneous kebabs, pastries, bite sized meat pies,
salad, small slices of cake and so on. Often with vegetarian items marked as
such. Sometimes with vegan, gluten-free, kosher and halal items also marked.
Actual plates made of ceramic not just napkins, and glasses made of glass
rather than plastic. Real metal knives and forks.

Personally I'd just as soon have pizza (I drive way too badly to worry about
healthy eating) but getting pizza delivery seems more common in tech than in
any other sector I've had free food in.

------
courtewing
While this may very well be a problem within the startup community, I don't
think this is a problem specific to nor originating in the startup community.
Pizza, caffeine, desserts, beer -- these are all things that are easy to come
across in many (most?) common social situations.

The office "christmas party" from the white collar mega-corp where you work is
usually a big hit because of its free booze. After you win your game of adult
<whatever sport you play>, the team goes out for pub food and drinks. When you
invite a bunch of people over to watch <some important event>, you usually
supply sandwiches, pizza, wings, booze, etc.

Heck, I can't remember the last time I've actively set up a meeting with
someone that wasn't over a cup of coffee or a beer, and I don't own a startup
or live in an area that even remotely resembles the common hubs for startup
culture in the US.

People are just unhealthy, and in social situations, it is usually important
to cater to the needs/expectations of the masses rather than the few.

~~~
biznickman
IMHO the needs are for healthy food, the expectations are currently for crap.
Perhaps it would be possible to raise expectations? Or do people simply not
desire healthy living?

~~~
dreamdu5t
People have different desires and preferences. The problem is expecting
everyone to desire the same thing. People should bring the food they want to
eat, or event organizers should provide a range of food options that satisfy
all their guests.

------
michaelpinto
Maybe it's not just startup culture -- but nerd culture in general. I also
think that you want to be a bit obsessed and while that works well on tasks
like code it doesn't work well if your default meal is pizza and red bull.

By the way I'm a fortysomething geek and I've watched my fellow geeks who are
the same age undergo all sorts of health issues as a result: Everything from
open heart surgery to diabetes. It's depressing to watch...

So I don't want to sound like my grandfather, but if you don't have your
health you really don't have much else in life. So if you're a young geek
reading this please try to find some balance in your life.

~~~
Tycho
Can you elaborate a bit... what sort of shape were your friends in when they
were 20-something? Were they overweight? Underweight? Sleep deprived? Full-
time employed? Did they exercise not enough or just not at all? Or were they
regular looking guys who you might _think_ were healthy but actually were
living on terrible diets and lifestyles.

Don't want to be nosy... just genuinely curious.

~~~
michaelpinto
I'll give you just one friend as an example:

He was very thin in his youth and he still is thin today. But his diet was
terrible -- sugar, fast food, never a home cooked meal unless it was
microwaved, energy drinks (mountain dew, red bull). Because he wasn't fat he
didn't look out of shape, in fact if you met him you'd say "he looks healthy".
But that wasn't the case: He had a heart attack and developed diabetes. Also h
left the startup life when he hit age 35 and hit these issues in his 40s -- so
it's the bad habits of a lifetime.

And the sad thing is that he works in tech, not in startups -- but his
colleagues are all getting heart attacks. So I think it's a nerd thing rather
than a startup thing. I also think that there is something unhealthy about
sitting all day. And I now find myself trying to break that habit by going to
a gym.

If you're a twentysomething do yourself a favor: While you are still young try
and get into good habits! Make the gym or some regular physical activity your
friend. Make your own food at home, it's always going to be better than take
out. And don't be afraid to get sleep. I'm trying to fix this stuff in my 40s
and it's super hard.

------
zackzackzack
One observation I've made is that if I eat any food at an event, I am more
likely to stick around and not bounce out if I think the speaker/topic/people
are boring. By eating the food that organizers have provided, psychologically
I am committing to staying there and providing value in exchange for the food
I provided. So, to maximize this effect, it makes sense to serve the lcd of
foods; junk.

------
matznerd
There seems to be logical explanations for all of these...Pizza is the
cheapest food to feed a large group of people. Caffeine is a stimulant that
makes people work longer and harder. Free beer is a good way to draw people to
an event and it makes conversation flow more easily among participants.

------
j45
Perhaps "popular" startup culture doesn't focus on health as a priority and a
reasonable temporary sacrifice? In reality, it's not temporary.

Taking care of your health is not lazy nor somehow less committed to your
startup.

Taking care of your health and energy first is what makes the periods of
extreme efforts productive instead of unproductive.

I was plenty unhealthy in my early 20's, it's almost glorified that we'll make
up living later. While I am a deep believer in sacrifice, hard work,
discipline, and focus... health, like time is difficult to make up.

I'm in this for the long haul, so I have to build my health to sustain me
through it. If you can't be healthy now, juggling today's demands, it's hard
to imagine it'll be easier in the future, when demands are even bigger and
wider. One excuse often is simply replaced with another.

One thing I believe is crucial: include sustainable health and culture as a
part of finding a startup's repeatable and scalable business model.

I've never been a guy who could go through the gym so I hacked my habits, and
found something I could love doing (sports) early enough in the morning. I
have never regretted one morning of getting up early, I am absolutely wired at
7:30 and fall into coding flow so easily.

Having now largely quit caffeine, greatly limiting my sugar intake except for
fruits, etc, playing sports at 6 am a few times a week, managing my diet, and
having a bit of Vitamin d and b12, my energy is absolutely through the roof.

Hacking my habits and myself has turned out to be a neat way for me to boost
my energy and productivity, one habit at a time. Once I've explored and
experimented with one new habit and got the hang of it, I add another thing.

This is coming from a life long night owl. I'd stay up 24-48 hours straight
sometimes coding, and what I do now is more productive in more areas of my
life. There's no comparison. Zero. Waking up early with a full and clear head
of energy is 10x more productive than any late night coding I loved doing.

I'm not perfect at sticking with it for weeks on end, especially with a few
late nights here and there. Every so often I reset the routine and I come out
largely ahead from not doing it at all.

If startups are a temporary organization looking to find a repeatable and
scalable business model, there's still a gap in sustainability, longevity and
not burning people out, especially while working to validate through likely
many iterations of an idea.

------
army
There's nothing wrong with caffeine, particularly in moderate quantities and
if you don't use it to stay up all night. Red bull and other sugary drinks are
a different story, but the problem there is sugar and not caffeine. I hate to
have my precious caffeine unfairly maligned.

------
photorized
Try hanging out with Wall St traders some time. That will put things in
perspective.

------
tzs
Saying pizza is unhealthy is like saying sandwiches are unhealthy, or that
salads are unhealthy. It all depends on how they are made.

------
dreamdu5t
I'm offended that you've spoken of pizza in such a disgraceful manner. You're
not welcome at any of my parties.

~~~
dreamdu5t
Sorry my post lacks the substance of OP's article about pizza and beer at
social gatherings.

------
nerdfiles
Undertake food hacking, or more pedantically, molecular gastronomy.

Some definitions of molecular gastronomy (from
<http://khymos.org/definitions.php>):

    
    
        - The application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of domestic and gastronomic food preparation. (Peter Barham)
        - The art and science of choosing, preparing and eating good food. (Thorvald Pedersen)
        - The scientific study of deliciousness. (Harold McGee)
        - Combining the 'know how' of cooks with the 'know why' of scientists
    

And read <cite>In Defense of Food</cite>:

    
    
        - Eat Food.
        - Mostly Greens.
        - Not Too Much.
    

With those three principles, one can build fun analytical games with creating
exciting dishes. I usually approach food in a modular way.

Remember the days when you would pick at your food and sort it? How is it that
programmers tend to start off this way, as little philosophers about their
food, only to grow up to consume it without mindfulness at all? Where did THAT
come from? I believe that is the more pressing question. How is it that the
intuition we have about food, of applying analysis to it, becomes completely
washed out?

I'm sure someone with a penchant for post-structuralist interpretation may
have something to note on this.

