BNF Healthy Eating Week 2016 Workplace Guide
Introduction Thank you for registering for this year’s British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) Healthy Eating Week in the Workplace. The Week will take place June 13th-17th 2016. This is the second year BNF Healthy Eating Week has been open to the workplace and, with your help, we are hoping to make it even more successful than last year! The purpose of BNF Healthy Eating Week is to provide a dedicated week in the year where UK workers and school children can simultaneously focus on healthy eating and drinking, and physical activity, in order to encourage healthy living. Your BNF Healthy Eating Week in the Workplace will need to be tailored to the employees of your organisation. You will need to decide what activities will take place and when. This guide has been developed to help you plan and organise your Week and provide you with ideas to meet the Week’s five challenges (Have breakfast; Have 5 A DAY; Drink plenty; Get active; Try something new). We hope the Week will help you to build on your business’ workplace health initiatives. We would be delighted to hear what you are planning for the Week, and what you do during the Week, so do get in touch. You can contact us or share your plans in the following ways: Email: Lucy Chambers
[email protected] Twitter: @BNFEvents #HEW16 Have a great week! BNF team
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Why get involved? The Week is a chance to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours to your staff. Promoting health in the workplace is not only beneficial to employees but also to employers.
Benefits to your business It increases productivity and production.
It is estimated that promoting workplace health may improve productivity by 1-2%. It decreases absenteeism. In 2014 and 2015, 27.3 million working days were lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury. This costs the UK approximately £8 billion each year. It decreases sickness cost. Between 2013 and 2014, it was estimated that the cost of injuries and ill health due to current working conditions was £14.3 billion. It has a positive impact on presenteeism. Presenteeism is defined as being at work but not being able to function to maximum capacity and it is estimated that this costs the UK £15 billion each year. It reduces staff turnover. It improves recruitment of new workers. It reduces occupational accidents and injury. The Week can contribute to the Public Health Responsibility Deal. As part of the Responsibility Deal, there are a number of pledges that you can sign up to which help improve the health of employees while at work. Depending on the activities you include, BNF Healthy Eating Week could help contribute to the demonstration of: - encouraging and enabling healthier eating at work (pledge H4); - offering and promoting staff health checks (pledge H6); - increasing physical activity levels in the workplace (pledge P4). The Week provides an opportunity for team building. The activities throughout the Week will involve employees working, helping and encouraging each other to complete the five challenges. The Week demonstrates to the wider community (e.g. your clients and customers) that the health and wellbeing of your staff is important to your business.
Benefits to your employees Enhanced health and wellbeing Enhanced self-esteem Reduced stress
Approximately 9.9 million working days are lost to stress. Improved staff morale Increased job satisfaction Department of Health (2013) http://bit.ly/1VUB9N2 Health and Safety Executive (2015) http://bit.ly/1esMtef Health and Safety Authority (2010) http://bit.ly/1johjZQ British Dietetic Association (2015) http://bit.ly/1SSwjPN
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The five challenges During BNF Healthy Eating Week, each day will focus on one of the five health challenges to encourage healthy lifestyle behaviours. The five challenges are: Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Your organisation can follow our Week’s timetable or you can change the timetable to fit your organisation (e.g. do the challenges on different days, or focus on two challenges for the whole week). Information about each of the challenges is provided on pages 4-8.
The behaviour change techniques Changing lifestyle behaviour is notoriously difficult and so, new for 2016, we are suggesting some techniques that can help you change your behaviour and achieve the five challenges. For each challenge, we have suggested some activities based on these techniques (see pages 4-8).
Setting goals and tracking progress can help motivate you into action.
Practical and emotional support from friends, family and colleagues can make it easier to change habits.
Small changes to the home or work enviroment can make healthier choices easier.
Material or social incentives can encourage positive shifts in behaviour.
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Have breakfast We are challenging everyone to have a healthy breakfast (including a drink) every day. Why is it important to have breakfast? • Breakfast helps get the day off to a good start by providing some of the energy and nutrients the body needs for good health (e.g. starchy carbohydrate, fibre, B vitamins and iron). • Eating breakfast has been associated with beneficial effects on cognitive performance. • Having breakfast, particularly one which includes protein, may help you to stave off hunger for longer and reduce snacking on less healthy foods. What makes a healthy breakfast? • Choose higher-fibre, wholegrain varieties of starchy foods, such as wholemeal bread or wholegrain cereals. • Include at least one of your 5 A DAY at breakfast (e.g. chopped banana, a handful of berries, baked beans). • You could include dairy foods or dairy-free alternatives (e.g. milk, soya drinks, yogurt). • You could include a source of protein (e.g. eggs, beans, kippers, ham). • Always include a drink so you start the day hydrated – water, unsweetened tea and coffee, and lower fat milk are good choices. Fruit juices and smoothies count towards one of your 5 A DAY, but you should consume no more than 150ml per day.
Activity ideas to meet the challenge • •
Provide a free healthy breakfast at a morning meeting. Send e-mail alerts to remind staff to ‘have breakfast’ and include some recipes for inspiration.
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Allow employees to start work 30 minutes later one day to enjoy a healthy breakfast with colleagues. Offer a voucher for a weekend breakfast/brunch at a local restaurant as a prize for those who complete the challenge. Ask each employee to bring in a breakfast food to contribute to a breakfast buffet for the whole team. Ask employees to pair up and provide breakfast for each other during the Week. Challenge your staff to have a different breakfast every day of the Week. Keep track of progress using the BNF Healthy Eating Week tracker (see page 11).
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Have 5 A DAY We are challenging everyone to eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day.
Why is it important to have 5 A DAY? • Fruit and vegetables provide fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that keep us healthy. • Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day can help reduce the risk of developing chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and some cancers. What counts as a portion? • 80g of fresh, frozen or canned fruit or vegetables counts as one portion, which is approximately: - one medium sized piece of fruit such as a banana, apple, pear, orange or nectarine; - two or more small fruits such as plums, satsumas, kiwi fruit or apricots; - a large handful of berries, cherries or grapes; - one dessert bowl of salad; - three heaped tablespoons of vegetables. • 150ml of 100% fruit juice or smoothie, 30g (one heaped tablespoon) of dried fruit and 80g of beans or pulses (three heaped tablespoons) count as one portion, but only once towards our 5 A DAY.
Activity ideas to meet the challenge • • • • • • • •
Ask canteen staff to make vegetables the default side-dish with all lunchtime meals. Place a fruit bowl in your break or tea room. Offer a prize, such as a recipe book or fruit basket, to those who complete the challenge. For those who achieve 5 A DAY during the Week, provide free samples of a ‘guest’ fruit or vegetable (e.g. Sharon fruit, Dragon fruit). Encourage employees to bring in a fruit or vegetable snack to swap with another colleague. Ask employees to bring in fruit to contribute to a communal fruit bowl. Set employees a challenge to incorporate five fruits or vegetables into the food they bring into work. Ask employees to make a ‘veg pledge’ to eat at least two portions of vegetables with every lunch and evening meal during the Week.
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Drink plenty We are challenging everyone to have at least 8-10 unsweetened drinks a day. Why is it important to drink plenty? • The body is about 60% water and this is needed for many different functions, such as regulating temperature. • We are constantly losing water though our skin when we sweat, our lungs when we breathe and when we go to the toilet, so it is important to drink plenty throughout the day to avoid dehydration. • Mild dehydration can make it difficult to concentrate and cause headaches and tiredness. What counts? It is recommended that adults drink 1.6-2 litres of fluid a day, which is approximately 8-10 200ml drinks a day. The exact amount of fluid an individual needs will depend on many factors including age, gender, activity levels and the weather. The following are all healthier options: • water (this is the best option for a regular drink); • lower fat milks; • unsweetened beverages (e.g. tea, coffee, sugar-free drinks). Fruit juice and smoothies should be limited to no more than a combined maximum of 150ml a day as they contain free sugars, which increase the risk of tooth decay and contribute to energy intake.
Activity ideas to meet the challenge • •
Place water dispensers around your work area. Place jugs of iced water in your break or tea room; you could flavour these with cucumber, lemon, orange or mint.
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Organise a team trip out to a local juice bar for a drink at break or lunch time. Reward those who meet the challenge with a personalised water bottle or water infuser. Ask employees to work together to make sure water dispensers, jugs and bottles are kept topped up throughout the day. Ask employees to make each other drinks during the day.
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Ask all employees to bring a 2 litre bottle of water to drink throughout the day. Use the BNF Healthy Eating Week tracker (see page 11) to record drinking habits, with the aim of consuming 8-10 drinks a day.
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Get active We are challenging everyone to do 150 minutes of physical activity during the Week. Why is it important to get active? Physical activity is beneficial because it can: • help you to maintain energy balance; • help improve cardiovascular health and strengthen muscle and bone; • improve sleep; • relieve stress and lift mood. What counts? 150 minutes per week (at least 30 minutes on five days of the week) of activities which are of moderate or vigorous intensity. Moderate intensity physical activity will make you feel warmer, breathe harder and make your heart beat faster, but you should still be able to hold a conversation. Vigorous intensity physical activity will make you feel warmer, breathe much harder and make your heart beat rapidly, making it more difficult to hold a conversation. As well as moving more, we also need to sit less.
Activity ideas to meet the challenge • •
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Encourage employees to leave their desk to talk to colleagues, instead of emailing or telephoning. Place signs near the lift reminding employees to take the stairs; you could use the downloadable BNF Healthy Eating Week Workplace poster to do this (see page 11). Provide employees with an activity class during their lunch break – you could invite a local fitness instructor to run the class. Offer a fitness prize, such as tennis lessons, a month’s gym membership or sports equipment, to a staff member who has succeeded with the challenge all week. Have a walking meeting. Organise a power walk for colleagues during their lunch break. Set a challenge for staff to include more walking, running or cycling in their journey to work. Swap office chairs for exercise balls and aim to stay on it for the whole working day.
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Try something new We are challenging everyone to try something new related to healthy eating and drinking, cooking, and physical activity every day during the Week. Why is it important to try something new? Trying something new may help to: • increase variety in the diet; • learn a new skill; • find you a new activity to enjoy; • meet new people; • have fun. What counts? Any food, drink, or physical activity you have not tried before.
Activity ideas to meet the challenge • •
Host a Health festival (see page 9). Ask the canteen to add new foods to the menu, such as mackerel, lentils and wholegrains.
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Organise a free lunch buffet, which includes foods from around the world. Reward the team with a day out to learn a new activity (e.g. boules, table tennis, Pilates, Zumba).
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Encourage employees to swap recipes and bring in new dishes for each other to try. Ask employees to share information with each other about the exercise they enjoy and classes they attend. Set employees a target to try at least one new food/drink or activity each day of the Week. Challenge employees to attend one new exercise class during the Week.
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Other ideas Health festival •
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Organising a Health festival is a great way to focus on the challenges, promote healthy lifestyle behaviours and provide an opportunity for employees to have a health check. You could set an afternoon aside and invite local organisations to set up stalls in your workplace to promote a healthy lifestyle. For example: - invite a Dietitian or Registered Nutritionist to provide your employees with information on healthy eating; - invite a Registered Nurse to provide your staff with a health check (e.g. blood pressure, heart rate, BMI); - invite a fitness instructor to provide information on physical activity and/or to run a fitness class; - invite a local chef/food retailer to provide a cooking demonstration and/or free samples of healthier foods and drinks.
Ideas from organisations that took part in BNF Healthy Eating Week in the Workplace 2015 •
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‘Weigh yourself Wednesday’ – staff weighed themselves, tracked their weight and accessed information on weight control. ‘Thirsty Thursday’ - water coolers and water bottles were provided to give employees unlimited and easy access to water. ‘Fruity Friday’- staff were provided with free fruit. Lunchtime circuit training class using the organisation’s large meeting room facility. Lunchtime power-walk around the local park. A range of healthy foods were provided to staff for breakfast every day during the Week. Try something new – new foods/dishes were added to canteen menu (e.g. kippers, brown rice and yogurt pots). ‘Grab and go’ fruit and vegetable bar added to canteen.
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10 tips for success Decide who is going to coordinate the Week. Get support from management. Publicise the Week. To ensure maximum participation from everyone in your organisation, promote BNF Healthy Eating Week, its purpose and the five challenges prior the beginning of the Week. You may want to use BNF Healthy Eating Week posters, logos and icons (see page 11). Allocate a day to each challenge. Choose to follow BNF’s challenge timetable or choose a day for each challenge that will best suit your organisation. Alternatively, you could focus on a couple of challenges for the whole week. If hosting a Health festival, assign a colleague to organise it. They may want to consider who will help set up the Festival, what guests to invite and what activities to have at each stall. Contact local organisations to support your Week and attend your Health festival. • For example, invite a fitness instructor to run a 30 minute exercise class during the lunch break on your ‘Get active’ day. • Ask a local greengrocer to supply free fruit on your ‘Have 5 A Day’ day. Plan your timetable for the Week. • Choose activities to support the challenges. You can refer to pages 4-8 for ideas, or involve your colleagues and ask them to provide suggestions. • Designate specific times for the activities. • If your organisation includes part-time and shift employees, organise your BNF Healthy Eating Week activities to include these members of staff (e.g. provide your night workers with a free healthy breakfast after their shift). Keep your colleagues updated. As you finalise the Week’s activities and events, send update emails to your colleagues so they are aware of what is going and what is expected of them. Final update. The week before BNF Healthy Eating Week, provide colleagues with a final timetable of the week’s events and activities. BNF Healthy Eating Week. During the Week, share pictures and stories on social media and see what other companies are doing. Tweet @BNFEvents using the hashtag #HEW16.
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Resources BNF resources • Downloadable BNF Health Eating Week tracker to support your challenges. • Downloadable BNF Health Eating Week poster to publicise your events. • Downloadable BNF Health Eating Week logo and icons for the five challenges and four behaviour change techniques to use on your own resources. • The BNF website has lots of information and resources on nutrition and healthy eating. • Putting dietary recommendations into practice This BNF poster shows how recommendations for dietary fibre and free sugars are achievable through a healthy, balanced diet, whilst meeting other dietary recommendations. A 7-day meal planner can be found here. • Food labelling resource A resource explaining how to read nutrition labels on food packaging. Other resources • The Eatwell Guide booklet A booklet explaining the Eatwell Guide, including how to achieve a healthy balanced diet. • One You quiz An online quiz from Public Health England which checks your health and generates personal health advice based on your lifestyle. • Healthy breakfasts Healthy breakfast ideas by NHS choices. • NHS Couch to 5K A running plan for beginners. • Change4life smart recipes Healthy recipe ideas. • Change4life easy drink swaps Ideas on how to drink less alcohol. • Change4life Sugar Swaps app An app that reveals how much sugar is in food and drink products. • NHS BMI healthy weight calculator An online Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator. • One You drinks tracker An app to track alcohol consumption. • Public Health Responsibility Deal Pledges to support the UK workforce to lead healthier lives.
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Name:
Challenge diary Monday
Challenge
Planned activities
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Notes
