Nutrition Strategies in
Worksite Wellness
2014 State Agency Wellness Conference
Wellness at Your Worksite: Making the Ideal Real
October 14, 2014
Exploring Assumptions
Eating is a conscious act. Given the right
information, people can eat the right types
and quantity of food.
OR
Eating is an unconscious behavior controlled
by the environment rather than by the
individual.
2
We process most information unconsciously
3
Decision Making
Brain Processes
Cognitive
40-60 bits/second
Impulsive,
automatic
~11 million bits/second
• We can think about only one
thing at a time
• Everything else functions
automatically
– Entire human processing
capacity (including visual
system and unconscious)
can process ~11 million
bits per second
– Humans can consciously
process 40-60 bits per
second
– Most actions and decisions
are NOT conscious
Source: Dijksterhuis A, et al The Unconscious Consumer: Effects of Environment on
Consumer Behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology 2005;15(3):193-202.
4
Eating as Mindful or Mindless Eating?
OR
5
Portion Sizes as a Cue to Stop Eating
People served a
baked pasta dish 50%
larger than normal
ate 43% more than
those served the
normal portion
6
What if the food doesn’t taste good?
People at a movie
theater were given stale
popcorn and complained
about the taste. Those
given popcorn in boxes
2x the normal size ate
34% more popcorn than
those given the normal
size.
7
Placement and Visibility
• Office workers with
chocolate Kisses within
reach ate 5.6 more
candies per day than
workers with candy on a
shelf 2 m away
• Office workers who had
candy on their desks in
transparent jars ate 3.1
more chocolate Kisses
than office workers with
the candy in opaque
jars.
8
Mindlessly Eating Healthier
• If we can eat mindlessly worse, we can eat mindlessly better
• The food environment is powerful
• Focus efforts on the organizational level
9
Brainstorm: What are the sources of food and beverages in the
worksite setting?
WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF
FOOD AND DRINK
10
Food and Beverages at Work
•Cafeteria / Snack Bar
•Convenience store
•Vending machines
•Meetings
•Potlucks
•Breakroom
•Lunches from home
•Snacks at desk
•Candy bowls
•Fundraising
11
4 P’s of Marketing
Product
Price
Placement
Promotion
12
Business Enterprises of Texas
•Business Enterprises of Texas (BET) is a federally
sponsored, state-administered program that
provides food service management opportunities to
Texans who are blind.
•BET managers oversee state agency cafeterias,
snack bars, convenience stores, vending
•Each manager is the sole proprietor
•Each manager completes a 16-week training
•Various levels of knowledge and experience in food
service
13
Randolph-Sheppard Act
•Federal law that gives legally blind vendors
advantages over other vendors who operate vending
facilities (vending machines, cafeterias, and snack
bars) at the federal level
•Establishes a vending business program in each
state, Business Enterprise Program (BEP)
•Each state designates a state licensing agency to
oversee implementation
•Texas has adopted laws similar to the RandolphSheppard Act
14
Product in Cafeterias
•BET recommends 1
healthy entrée per
day
•No required
nutrition standards
•General food-based
recommendations
•No nutrient-based
standard (%
calories, fat,
carbohydrates, etc.)
15
Cafeteria Manager Presentations
16
Cafeteria: Placement
Brian Wansink
smarterlunchrooms.org
17
Cafeteria and Convenience Stores: Placement
Brian Wansink
nudges.org
18
Vending: Product
•BET recommends a mixture of products to
attract both types of customers
– 85% “normal” snacks /15% healthier snacks
•Product recommendations in Nutrition
Notebook
•Nutrition standards for healthier options
– NANA Model Beverage and Food Vending
Machine Standards
– CDC Health and Sustainability Guidelines for
Federal Concessions and Vending Operations
– Healthy Vending Machine Policy – City of San
Diego Dept of Parks and Recreation
19
Vending: Placement
•Planograms
– Science of placing items in vending machines
•All BET vendors are trained and have access
to a BET Classroom CD that includes a
planogram template
20
Vending: Placement & Promotion
Example Planogram with 15% Healthy Items (8 items) in a 58
Spiral Machine – Table.
A-0
1.00
~Sun Chips 1.8 oz
Nacho
Par Level 8
B-0
1.00
~PF Chr Gold Fish
Whole Wheat
Par Level 6
C-0
1.00
~FL Baked PC 2.0 oz
Original
Par Level 8
D-1
D-2
1.00
1.00
NV-Pnt
Qkr Chy B
Crunchy 1.5
Bar 1.48 oz
oz
PB Cho Cp
Par Level 12
Par Level 10
E-2
E-1
1.00
1.00
Rstd Sun
Org Trail Mx
Flower
unsalted 2 oz Kernels 1 oz
Par Level 10
Par Level 10
F-0
1.00
Snackanimals 2.12 oz
wht-free oatmeal
Par Level 6
A-2
A-4
A-6
A-8
B-2
B-4
B-6
B-8
C-2
C-4
C-6
C-8
DD-3 D-4 D-5 D-6 D-7 D-8 D-9 10
EE-3 E-4 E-5 E-6 E-7 E-8 E-9 10
F-3 F-4 F-5 F-6 F-7 F-8
F-10
21
Vending and Cafeterias: Promotion
•Better Eating Today
•Chalkboards or dry erase boards
22
Price
Product
Price
Placement
Promotion
23
Working with BET Managers
•Collaborate and share ideas
•Don’t intimidate or make the manager feel
bad
•Help the manager see the financial gain
•If the manager has healthy products
available, work on pricing, placement,
and/or promotion
•Change takes time
•Make incremental changes
24
Questions re: Planogram or Nutrition Notebook
Joe Gonzalez
BET Training Specialist
Joe.Gonzalez@dars.state.tx.us
(512) 377-0558
25
Meetings, Potlucks, Conferences, Breakroom
•Healthy Meeting
Toolkit
•Healthy Meeting
Guidelines
•Healthy Eating
Model Resolution
•Webinar
http://cspinet.org/nutritionpolicy/healthy-meeting.html
•Healthy Eating
Pledge
26
CDC Healthy Meetings and Events
•Offer a variety of grains—especially whole-grain
foods—and fruits and vegetables.
•Provide fat-free, low-fat, or low-calorie foods and
beverages.
•Offer foods and beverages low in added sugars.
•Serve foods that are low in salt and sodium.
•Include smaller portions .
•Consider offering only beverages at mid-morning
and mid-afternoon breaks.
27
Meetings and Potlucks: Placement
•Place vegetables first in line
•Place healthier entrees closer
•Place non-fruit desserts farther away
•Place food at a separate table than where
people are sitting
28
Candy Bowl
•Product: small fresh fruits (oranges, finger
bananas), individually wrapped dried fruits,
boxes of raisins, small packages of nuts
•Placement: out of arm’s reach in an opaque
container with a lid
29
Food from Home or at Desk
•Prepare meals and snacks in advance
•Keep healthy snacks on hand
•Keep food out of sight
•Planning, cooking skills, discipline
30
Farm to Work
•Farm to Work
Toolkit
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/obesit
y/nutritionfarmtowork.shtm
•Sustainable Food
Center’s Program
Replication Training
http://www.sustainablefoodcenter.
org/program-replication
31
Employee Culture
•Formal and informal leaders encourage
healthy social norms
32
Thank You!
Christina Thi, MPH, RD, LD
Obesity Prevention Coordinator
Community and Worksite Wellness Program
(512) 776-6348
Christina.Thi@dshs.state.tx.us