Proposal for a workplace nutrition education program

Proposal in support of a nutrition education program in the workplace

The health of employees influences their morale, productivity, well-being and satisfaction. Nutritious eating habits and physical exercise are crucial to maintaining good health. Corporate nutrition benefits both employer and employee.

Poor health from poor nutrition

For a business, any form of ill health that prevents an employee from optimally fulfilling his or her job poses a problem. From hypoglycæmia, high blood pressure and chronic fatigue, to not being able to successfully deal with stress and anxiety, nutrition provides the building blocks for optimal health.¹

The American Dietetic Association looked at chronic disease prevention in society and concluded the following:

“In the changing U.S. health care environment, it is increasingly evident that preventative health care services emphasizing the role of diet, food choices, and physical activity are needed to reduce the cost of health care in traditional, public health, and managed care settings. To improve the health of the public and increase their knowledge about nutrition, dietetics professionals should become members of program staff and interdisciplinary teams that are involved with planning and delivering health promotion and disease prevention programs in community and public health settings, schools, worksites, places of worship, and corporate locations.”²

Physical activity improves brain function

The world of work has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. A “hard worker” is now somebody who spends all day sitting at a desk, rather than all day engaged in physical activity. The inactivity that has resulted from our labour-saving devices at work and at home is the underlying cause of many of our chronic diseases. Introducing regular physical activity to the employees of your organisation can boost morale, reduce absenteeism, and lower medical costs.

Dopamine receptors in the brain responsible for memory, cognition, and maintenance of healthy hormonal levels decline with normal aging. ³ Studies now show that ærobic exercise can slow that decline. An enzyme called protein kinase C, an indicator of brain function that rapidly declines with age, was measured. This study found that older men who exercised regularly had enzyme levels similar to that of younger men, while sedentary men showed much lower enzyme levels (as well as other signs of brain degeneration). ⁴

The cost of diet-related disease

When businesses look to cut costs, an employee nutrition program is not typically the first thing they think of implementing. However, poor employee health costs businesses:

• In a 1990 study, nearly one in five Canadians missed more than one week of work due to injury, sickness, or disability. One third of these (6% of total workers) missed more than five weeks of work.⁵
• In Australia, the indirect costs of diet-related diseases (absenteeism and missed earnings through illness and premature death) was estimated at $746 million in 1989-90.⁶
• One U.S. study showed that employees who are 40% overweight are absent from work twice as often as the average worker.⁷

Not only will companies benefit from lowered costs, but also employees will benefit from a higher quality of life.

Benefits to the company

There are numerous benefits for a company that incorporates a nutrition promotion programs into the workplace. These include cost benefits through increased productivity.⁸, ⁹, ¹⁰ This may be through:

• Decreased absenteeism.
• Reduced staff turnover.
• Improved ability of employees to perform their jobs through improved health and morale.
• Reduced number of worker compensation claims.

The Lewin Group, a respected health policies research firm, showed that nutritional therapy is associated with a substantial reduction in health care spending. This U.S. study found that when nutritional therapy was used for cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients, hospitalisation costs were reduced by 8.6% and physician visit costs were reduced by 16.9%.² Using the equations below will give you a rough estimate of how your business might save:.

Claims for hospitalisations for CVD:___x 8.6% = _____estimated savings

Claims for hospitalisations for CVD:___x 8.6% = _____estimated savings

A December 1999 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association discussed the relationship between modifiable health risks, including diet and obesity, and short-term health care costs. The authors concluded that “health payers seeking to minimise health care charges may wish to consider strategic investments in interventions that effectively modify adverse health risks.” The finding was that for each increase in body mass index (BMI) there was an increase in health care costs (BMI is a measure of a patient's level of adiposity, determined by weight (kg)/height (m²)).

First Chicago Corporation also found, in a survey of 3,066 of their employees, that as BMI increases the number of sick days, medical claims, and health care costs go up. First Chicago also found that both direct and indirect costs to employers rise with an increase in BMI within the employee population and that employers may obtain significant benefits from helping their workers achieve healthier weights.

Why the workplace is an ideal setting for a nutrition promotion program

There are many benefits of having a nutritional program implemented in the workplace, compared to other areas of life:

• Workers spend 30-50% of their waking hours at work.
• Food eaten at work contributes significantly to the total day's intake.¹¹
• Most employees will eat at work nearly every workday, which allows regular nutrition education in the workplace cafeteria or breakroom.
• Workplace social networks already exist which can be beneficial for encouraging participation and providing support and camaraderie.⁸
• A workplace program can reach lower socio-economic groups that would not normally have the opportunity to participate in a health program.⁸
• Shift workers with a higher evening and nocturnal food intake may gain more weight.¹²

Studies have shown that employees welcome workplace health initiatives and their employer’s interest in their personal well-being.¹³

Recommendations for creating successful workplace nutrition programs

The following factors are key to the successful implementation of these programs:¹⁴

• Commitment to the program by senior management.
• Integration of the program into normal operation of the workplace.
• Promotion of program activities.
• Planning to ensure the program is relevant to the target group.
• Environmental support, such as healthy food offerings in workplace cafeterias.
• Programs conducted during the workday.¹⁵

Basic topics to cover in a nutritional program

The ultimate control is in the hands of individual employees, and the emphasis needs to be on changing behavioural patterns, rather than adhering to strict and unrealistic diet plans. Individuals with a history of unhealthy eating may have felt basic control slip between their fingers. By empowering your employees with the knowledge to choose healthier foods, they may carry this confidence over to other spheres of their lives.

Phase 1—General group education session

This two-hour session will cover basic healthy eating guidelines as well as details on particular food groups. The emphasis will be on eating to maintain or reduce body fat levels, as well as to promote optimal health and longevity. A group of up to 40 participants will have 90 minutes of presentation on these topics, with handouts to take home for further reinforcement. The last 30 minutes will be left open for general questions from the group.

This session can also be adapted for sales force employees, with particular attention on busy people who want to learn how to combine nutritious eating with fast-paced living. Participants will learn creative and practical strategies for weight control, meal and snack planning, grocery time-savers, fast food survival, time management for meals, and more.

Proposed fee: $40 per person per session (minimum 20 people, maximum 40 people for each session)

Phase 2—Assessment of workplace cafeteria/vending food and literature promotion

This phase entails an assessment of the current food availability in the workplace. It includes recommendations for both altering what is presently available, and introducing new healthy alternatives. Realistic options are discussed with regard to budget, availability, employee preferences (as determined by surveys), and other concerns specific to your business. Literature, such as nutritional information tags and point-of-sale information cards, can be made regularly available. A central nutritional information center may be set up with handouts giving information, promoting upcoming events, providing motivational challenges and ideas, and more.

Proposed fee: $50.00 per hour

Phase 3—One-on-one nutritional consultations

This phase involves counselors meeting with individual employees to review nutritional and lifestyle habits and preferences to and give tailored recommendations. (Click here for the vitamin-mineral assessment worksheet and food log.) This personal attention increases employee committment to the program. Employees are instructed to come prepared with a seven-day dietary log to review. Other lifestyle habits, such as exercise and smoking, will also be addressed. These consultations allow individuals to design realistic plans that improve the health choices they make every day, leading to a greater chance of long-term success.

Proposed fee: $50 per hour

Phase 4—Long-term electronic contact

Phase 4 helps employees retain better habits through reinforcement and education. Employees will have a familiar individual to contact via e-mail and have questions answered and information clarified. This phase also includes a twice weekly e-mail newsletter which includes new information, recipes, ideas and reinforcement of basic guidelines. Monthly online chat sessions allow participants to share first-hand information, as well as affirm group cohesion and camaraderie.

Proposed services: Up to 100 individual e-mail messages answered per month ($1 for each message over 100), two motivational e-mail newsletters per week, and one live chat per month.

Proposed fee: $400 per month

While Phase 1 is the logical place to begin this program, your company has complete freedom to pick and choose. The final plan will be tailored to the scale, sequence, and presentation that best suits your needs. I am happy to discuss the details with your company and present a custom plan.

“Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food!”

—Hippocrates

References

¹ Lieberman, Shari and Bruning, Nancy. The Real Vitamin & Mineral Book. New York; Avery Publishing Group, 1997.^back^

² The role of nutrition in health promotion and disease prevention programs--Position of ADA. J Am Diet Assoc. 1998;98: 205-208^back^

³ Joyce JN, et al. Age related regional loss of caudateputamen dopamine receptors revealed by quantitative radiography. Brain Res, 1986;378:158-163.^back^

⁴ Wang HY, et al. Endurance training effects on striatal 2 dopamine receptor bin and striatal dopamine metabolite levels. Neurosci Lett, 1987;79:138-144^back^

⁵ Leigh, J.P. (1991) Employee and Job Attributes as Predictors of Absenteeism in a National Sample of Workers: the Importance of Health and Dangerous Working Conditions. Social Science and Medicine. 33(2_, 127-137.^back^

⁶ Crowley et al. The cost of diet related disease in Australia. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1992.^back^

⁷ Read L, Cancer Research Institute, New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston 1986.^back^

⁸ Glanz K, Szewald-Klein T. Nutrition at the worksite: An Overview. Journal of Nutrition Education 1986: 18(1) Suppl S1-12.^back^

⁹ Conrad P, Wellness in the Workplace: Potentials and pitfalls of worksite health promotion. The Millbank Quarterly, 1987; 65:255-75.^back^

¹⁰ American Dietetic Association, Worksite Nutrition: a decision makers guide, 1986, 41-42:5.^back^

¹¹ Cochrane A, Capra S, Williams T, Sardie M. A canteen nutrition program implemented at a blue collar workplace: reflections and recommendations. Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics, 1994, 51(3):136-139.^back^

¹² Romon M et al. Circadian variation of diet-induced thermogenesis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1993, 57: 476-480.^back^

¹³ Healthworks Guide. Health Promotions and Programs Branch, Ministry of Health Canada, 1999.^back^

¹⁴ Williams P. Planning factors contributing to ongoing health promotions programs. Journal of Occupational Health and Safety -- Aust NZ, 1991, 6: 489-494.^back^

¹⁵ Sloan, RP and gruman; J.C, Participation in workplace Health Promotion Programs: The Contribution of Health and Organisational Factors. Health Education Quarterly, 1988, 15(3): 269-288.^back^