Healthy eating
Only 1 in 10 Queensland adults eat the recommended 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day. Healthy eating at work can improve concentration, mood, energy levels and self-esteem.
Healthy eating means eating a wide variety of nutritious foods including fruit, vegetables, grain
(cereal) foods, lean meat (or poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, tofu or legumes), low-fat milk, cheese or yogurt.
Eating healthier is about limiting the intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt and added sugar. What we eat at work can have a major influence on our long-term health.
There are plenty of ways to support your health by making healthier food choices. We all need a certain amount of food to keep our body functioning properly. Any extra food we eat above this needs to be burnt off by activity or it’s stored as fat.
The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating outlines the recommended number of serves based on the 5 food groups.
Extra stomach fat may indicate a greater risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. An easy way to assess your risk is to measure your waist. For men, a waist measurement of more than 94cm can indicate an increased risk of chronic disease; more than 102cm indicates greatly increased risk.
Women with a waist measurement of more than 80cm may have an increased risk of chronic disease; more than 88cm can indicate a greatly increased risk.
Ideas for action
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Make sure you take a break and encourage your colleagues to do the same.
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Remove the biscuit jar and replace it with fresh fruit.
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Nutritious food and chilled water at meetings to stay focused and full of energy.
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Consider a workplace lunch club where employees bring a healthy dish to share.
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Participate in lunchbox seminars on healthy eating topics – dietetics/nutrition.
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Consider a weight management program if you need support managing your weight.
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Pack your own lunch - save money and have more control over what you eat.
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Use a refillable water bottle.
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Source healthy food options from food outlets.
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Keep healthy snacks nearby, such as fruit, raw nuts, vegetable sticks, dried fruit.
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Wholegrain bread or wraps with healthy spreads, such as avocado, low-fat cream cheese; wholegrain crackers with reduced-fat cheese.
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Low-fat yoghurt with fresh fruit; wholegrain breakfast cereal with reduced-fat milk.
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Homemade muffins or slices with added fruits or vegetables.
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Plain, fruit or savoury scones and pikelets.
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If you are a shift worker: o eat your main meal before you start work o aim to eat 3 meals a day with 2 or 3 snacks as needed o eat lightly between 10pm and 6am o avoid a large meal before going to bed o avoid fatty, spicy or greasy foods.