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Healthy Eating in the Workplace

Why Bother with Healthy Eating at Work?

People consume at least a third of our daily calorie intake while at work. What we eat and drink affects not just our health but our work performance too. If employees fail to eat regular well-balanced meals or drink enough water, they may get headaches, feel sluggish or have difficulty concentrating.

Evidence suggests that improving access to healthier food and drinks at work can benefit both employers and employees.

Ref: British Heart Foundation, 2013

Need Help Convincing People in your Workplace?
Good Practice for Promoting Healthy Eating in the Workplace

The good news is that it is really simple to help your staff eat healthier. The key thing is to engage with your workforce and find out what they want to do.

Try following the easy to follow steps below:

  • Stay up to date with changes across health and wellbeing by signing up for the Healthy Working Wales e-bulletin.
  • Get people engaged and involved in the process.
  • Encourage and support people to introduce healthy eating into their day – this can help improve moods, reduce stress levels, and reduce risk of serious illness.
  • Try coming up with a range of different ways or supporting schemes to help staff to eat healthier in work, as well as out of work.
  • Encourage employees to bring in healthy lunches
  • Run taster sessions to encourage people to try different healthy foods.
  • Link into local organic box schemes enabling healthy fruit and vegetables to be delivered to the workplace.
  • Have a ‘healthy choice’ at business lunches, meeting and functions.
  • Provide a supportive environment containing safe storage for food, and posters promoting healthy eating.
  • Above all....make it fun! The more fun it is, the more people will want to get involved.
Help and Support Services
  • Healthy Working Wales can support employers with fun and engaging ideas for promoting and encouraging Healthy Eating. For more information you can email us at WorkplaceHealth@wales.nhs.uk with your queries and one of our advisers will contact you as soon as possible.
Guidance
  • Visit the British Heart Foundation Health at Work website to get advice, ideas, tips and resources to help you promote Healthy Eating at work.
  • Catering guidance that offers practical advice on how to make catering affordable, healthier and more sustainable.
  • Promote the Eatwell Guide in your workplace. The Eatwell Guide shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group to achieve a healthy, balanced diet.
Updates and Further Information