Healthy diet boosts productivity

by Nicole Weston, Posted Mar 6th 2006 @ 9:01AM

Even though earlier reports said that junk food boosted productivity in the office, it now appears that a healthy diet is they key to a busy, productive employee. The availability of sugary snacks did cause employees to work longer hours, but the same foods also made employees sluggish. Longer hours might have been necessary to compensate for a loss of productivity due to inattention or lack of energy. In addition, a diet high in fat and sugar can potentially increase the risk of obesity and diabetes, leading to an increased risk for other diseases and missed work time. Overweight workers are twice as likely to miss work as their fitter colleagues. Companies that have implemented a program of offering healthy snacks and subsidizing gym memberships have healthier employees. The employees, along with good health, also receive a big boost to morale. After 6 months of access to healthy snacks and activities, workers experienced a drop in cholesterol as well as a drop in the proteins that are indicators of possible heart disease. Happier and healthier employees work more efficiently and accomplish more and it starts with offering apples and oranges instead of donuts in the morning. That's definitely food for thought for employers.

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Tags: apples, break room, did you know, diet, donuts, food, food for thought, FoodForThought, happy employees, health food, healthy diet, HealthyDiet, junk food, lunch, office, office food, office kitchen, office snacks, productivity, snacks