Workers’ nutrition plan raises attendance

A new study has shown that health and nutrition initiatives that can cut absenteeism rates and boost general health among employees would cost €95 or less a year per worker.

The study looked at the costs of implementing and delivering workplace dietary interventions using data from a workplace dietary intervention trial, the Food Choice at Work Study, which in turn had looked at the eating habits of 850 employees in four multinational workplaces in Cork City.

The Food Choice at Work study monitored the impact of nutrition education and environmental dietary interventions to their physical wellbeing over a period of time, and showed obese workers are more likely to miss work and clock up a higher number of sick days than healthier colleagues, and also indicated “traffic light” coding on workplace meals would help employees to make healthier choices.