Are Your Employees Confused About Nutrition Was your breakfast this morning healthy? How do you know that exactly? Truth be told, when we talk about nutrition, a lot of us are still confused in our heads. Right! When we start to feel certain our diets and consider them healthy, out of the blue a new celebrity nutritionist arises — and of a sudden— what we considered a nutritious, healthy meal is, in reality, clogging our arteries. According to a study, most people are confused regarding nutrition and what exactly “healthy” entails. A lot of people report of finding conflicting information regarding which foods to eat and which to avoid. If you looking with an eye of an employer and encouraging positive nutritional choices at your organization, then these findings are evidently a wake-up call. While your employees might be trying hard to eat healthier, they are most expected to get confused on what actually “healthy” means. This confusion can eventually result in employees feeling burnt out and finally giving up on a healthy diet altogether. So, the question is what exactly should an employer do to make “healthy” easy and simple to understand for employees? Implementing a workplace wellness program while keeping the focus on nutrition might result as an ultimate solution. Keep on reading to know more regarding nutrition confusion and in what manner can a wellness program help.
Know Why Employees Are Confused? Sometimes “healthy” is confusing, but what exactly makes healthy choices so difficult? According to a survey, most of the people admitted that conflicting information regarding food causes them to question their choices and eating habits. For example, one article might tell an employee that red meat is healthy while a different nutrition blog might ask them to steer clear of red meat totally. The question of steak being a healthy diet still remains unclear, resulting in both frustration and confusion. Another reason why “healthy” is confusing is that the world of nutrition is constantly evolving, something that was considered healthy a few decades back is unhealthy now. If employees haven’t been kept up-to-date on modern dietary guidelines, they might think they are eating healthily, but, unfortunately, they could be very wrong.
How A Wellness Program Can Help Introducing a wellness program for employees that put a focus on nutrition will help guide all the employees who are trying hard to eat healthier and improve their diets. If there is a wellness program already in place in your organization but doesn’t include nutrition education, resources or advice, you must strongly consider adding all these elements. When employees feel that they do not have enough resources education they require to make healthy choices, frustration and confusion trump the motivation of eating well. Here are few examples you can follow to make nutrition simple with your corporate wellness program:
Educate employees regarding nutrition by organizing an onsite seminar with healthcare and nutritionist professional. Offer some trustworthy resources to employees which include healthy eating habits.
Motivate employees on eating more veggies and fruits rather than processed food. Encourage employees for home cooked meals instead of dining out. Conduct onsite cooking classes for employees. Provide information regarding the benefits of meal prepping along with little health meal-prep idea for work. Host healthy office potluck and share nutritious recipes once or twice a week. Conduct management programs as well as classes like onsite Weight Watchers. Offer employees with free consultations with dietician and nutritionist. Encourage employees to consult their doctor about diet during routine checkups. Replace sugary and processed snacks with healthy snacks like fresh fruits, nuts, yogurt, veggies etc. Conduct nutrition challenges and encourage employees to participate. Tell employees to keep a food journal, consume more vegetables, and eat home cooked meals, for the entire week. At the end of the week, reward employees who participate and successfully completed these challenges. Keep all the information regarding nutrition up-to-date. Conduct proper research and make sure that the nutrition advice is factual and is coming via a reliable source.
Helping your employees overcome the confusion that they have over healthy foods will benefit both employees as well as the organization. Once your employees understand the importance of eating healthily as well as create healthy eating habits, you can expect a major boost in productivity, general wellness as well as overall health around the entire office. Growing smart about health might take some time, but it all begins with little education. Conduct wellness program to raise awareness among your employees and create “healthy workplace”. Source: http://www.truworthwellness.com/blog/are-your-employees-confused-about-nutrition.html