The Risks of an Unhealthy Food Environment at Work

A FRUITFUL WORKPL ACE CULTIVATING HEALTHY EATING THROUGH COMPANY CULTURE Work can be stressful. Employees spend a vast majority of their day at work, and the stress of work can contribute to general unhealthiness. Organizations have an opportunity to make their work environments healthy ones. The first step toward reducing the impact of stress, unhealthy eating, little sleep, and lack of movement in employees' lives is to help them eat right at the office. THE HAZARDS OF HARMFUL EATING THE RISKS OF AN UNHEALTHY FOOD ENVIRONMENT AT WORK Healthful food in the workplace can be the first line of defense against the three major lifestyle diseases that plague America: DIABETES >>> MORE THAN (C« 9.3% OF AMERICANS ARE DIABETIC 29 MILLION PEOPLE! OBESITY 35% MORE THAN 70% 78 MILLION OF AMERICAN PEOPLE! OF AMERICAN ADULTS ARE ADULTS ARE OBESE OVERWEIGHT HEART DISEASE 600,000 PEOPLE DIE FROM HEART DISEASE ANNUALLY > IT IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN AMERICA 1 4 DEATHS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO HEART DISEASE 720,000 AMERICANS PER YEAR HAVE A HEART ATTACK 205,000 OF THESE ARE NOT FIRST-TIME HEART ΑΤ TAC KS! ON AVER AGE OF THE DAY ARE SPENT ON WORK 8.6 HOURS AND ITS RELATED ACTIVITIES WHAT CAN GOOD EATING HABITS AT THE WORKPLACE DO? MORE THAN FOOD FOR T HOUGHT IN THE WORKPLACE HEALTHY EATING IN THE OFFICE CAN GIVE EMPLOYEES: BETTER HEALTH Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables each day: REDUCES RISK OF HEART ENHANCES THE REDUCES DISEASE AND STROKE BY 30% IMMUNE SYSTEM WEIGHT GAIN PRODUCTIVITY OBESITY DIABETES HEART DISEASE COSTS EMPLOYERS: COSTS EMPLOYERS: COSTS EMPLOYERS: $506 $69 $110.4 IN LOWER PRODUCTIVITY ANNUALLY IN ANNUALLY IN PER OBESE WORKER REDUCED REDUCED ANNUALLY PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY Over $153 BILLION annually in lost productivity BILLION BILLION LOWER HEALTHCARE UTILIZATION OBESITY-RELATED $176 HEALTHCARE COSTS IN 2012, ARE OVER DIABETES COST BILLION ANNUALLY IN MEDICAL COSTS AMERICANS: $147-$210 HEART DISEASE BILLION COSTS EMPLOYERS ANNUALLY $148.1 BILLION OF ANNUAL 10% MEDICAL SPENDING ANNUALLY IN HEALTH CARE COSTS REDUCED ABSENTEEISM BEATING OBESITY WOULD SAVE AN ESTIMATED » 450 MILLION « SICK DAYS FROM BEING TAKEN, ANNUALLY HIGHER MORALE SNACKING WIΤΗ FRUIT: COUNTERACTS UNHEALTHY PROCESSED FOOD SNACKING Unhealthy snacking is linked to: Fruit snacking is linked to: EMOTIONAL EATING LOWER ANXIETY DEPRESSION MENTAL CLARITY COGNITIVE DIFFICULTIES LESS FATIGUE POOR DIETS KILL MORE AMERICANS THAN SMOKING, DRINKING, AND DRUG USE CHANGE CAN START IN THE WORKPLACE CREATE A CULTURE OF EATING RIGHT The Components of a Healthy Office: IN YOUR OFFICE: INSTALL VENDING MACHINES WITH HEALTHLY SNACKS Healthier bang for your buck: Replace junk food with fresh fruit in the break room $1 of cookies or potato chips: 1,200 calories $1 of fruit: 250 calories Making fruits the healthy option in a vending machine, employees are more inclined towards buying fruits. This in turn makes them feel better about spending their dollar on a healthier choice. PRESENT HEALTHY EATING PROVIDE FREE WATER AND MAKE MESSAGING THROUGHOUT SODA EXPENSIVE THE OFFICE Average annual American soda intake 526 PROVIDE ACCESS TO FARMERS CANS 1.5 CANS PER DAY! MARKETS FOR EMPLOYEES Replacing soda with water cuts out 6,000 empty calories per month This can result in 21 pounds of weight loss per year! SUBSIDIZE HEALTHY MEALS IN THE CAFETERIA Charge more for unhealthy meals HOLD HEALTHY EATING SEMINARS SHARE TEACH CONDUCT proper label reading healthy cooking presentations healthy recipes An apple a day does more than keep the doctor away. When replacing an unhealthy snack, it is a necessary step toward combatting lifestyle diseases and promoting better health. And as a workforce, that should be the fruit of our labor. THE FRUITGUYS wwW.FRUITGUYS.COM SOURCES http://www.cdc.gov/ http://orca.cf.ac.uk/61544/ http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/ http://fasinfat.org/facts-economic-costs-of-obesity/ http://www.jhortscib.com/isafruit/isa_pp047_051.pdf http://www.thehealthyeatingguide.com/healthy-eating-statistics/ http://www.gallup.com/poll/150026/unhealthy-workers-absenteeism-costs-153-billion.aspx http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/07/poor-dietary-habits-are-killing-people/#.U_P:QBBWQK4 http://online.creighton.edu/resource/health-human-services/top-public-health-issues-facing-health-officials-in-2013 http://www.slate.com/articles/life/a_fine_whine/2012/04/eating-at_your_d esk_why_lunch_breaks_are_totally_overrated_html http://public.optimahealth.com/Lists/OptimaFormsLibrary/mlmp-healthy-at-work-members-workwellnessideas-ideas-overview.pdf