Every March we celebrate Nutrition Month. Dietitians across Canada provide healthy eating tips on a specific topic. This year we are talking about healthy eating at work, or “Eating from 9 to 5”. Why is this topic important? Well, let’s look at the facts:
1) We know that 60% of Canadians 16 years of age and older are in the workforce
2) For the majority of working Canadians, 60% of waking hours are spent at work, with at least 1 meal eaten in the workplace.
3) Research shows that healthy eating at work has important benefits:
- Increased concentration and productivity
- Improved health, well-being and vitality
- Lower number of missed workdays
4) Close to 1/3 of Canadians are living with a chronic disease
5) Chronic disease= poorer quality of life, lower productivity, early death, and increased healthcare costs
6) Healthy eating can reduce risk for chronic diseases. Did you know that up to 75% of certain chronic diseases such as heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes, can be prevented through healthy diet changes?
A Day in the Life of a Busy Worker- Can You Relate?
8:00 A.M. The morning starts off in a rush, which leaves Rachel little time to eat breakfast or pack a lunch. She quickly grabs a packet of instant oatmeal and heads out the door.
8:25 A.M. Rachel arrives at work with some time to spare. She stops by the lunchroom to prepare the oatmeal and fills up her coffee from the coffee machine.
8:30 A.M. On her way to her desk, Rachel runs into Louise who is decorating her desk with green paraphernalia to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Louise fills up a candy bowl with green jelly beans and offers Rachel some, then places it on the communal filing cabinet.
8:45 A.M. Rachel arrives at her desk and eats her oatmeal while scanning through emails. An email indicates that the office will be celebrating Philip’s birthday this afternoon
10:30 A.M. Rachel attends a morning meeting. Her manager has brought coffee and donuts to the meeting to acknowledge the team’s hard work.
12:30 P.M. Rachel heads back to her desk to sift through the emails that accumulated during the morning. She will not have much time for lunch as she has another meeting in the afternoon. She gets a sandwich from the cafeteria and quickly eats at her desk
1:00 P.M. Rachel heads to another long meeting. She stops to get a coffee and grabs a handful of jelly beans on her way by the communal filing cabinet.
3:30 P.M. The meeting ends and the staff make their way to the lunchroom to celebrate Philip’s birthday. Halley is an amazing baker who has prepared a cake. There was fruit on the side, but it did not last long and Rachel missed out. She asks for a small slice of cake, thinking about the other treats she had today.
4:00 P.M. Rachel heads back to her desk feeling sluggish. She works away completing tasks and catching up on emails from the afternoon.
5:30 P.M. It’s the end of the work day. Rachel stayed at work a little later than usual, so she hits traffic on the way home, almost doubling her commute time. She is feeling tired and isn’t sure what to make for dinner. The kids have different activities to get to, so it will be a chaotic evening. She stops by a fast food restaurant to pick up a quick meal for her family before heading home.
What changes can be made? It can be hard to start healthy changes, when you don’t even know where to start. Follow-us over the course of March for blog updates, Facebook messages and daily tweets to encourage healthy eating in the workplace!