The Importance of Nutritional Education in the Work Place

Why is Nutritional Education Important?

Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in the United States as well as the leading cause of death in Clay County Missouri. There were a total of 1,455 deaths recorded in Clay County in 2006, and of those 1,455 there was a staggering 406 deaths due to Heart Disease and cardiovascular diseases. Some of the major risk factors for heart disease are high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. One of Clay County Health department’s goals is to reduce the prevalence of heart disease in its residents. For this reason, the above risk factors must be addressed.

To keep these health concerns in check, the CDC recommends altering your diet and physical activity level. Focusing on nutrition and diet is something everyone can do. Learning how to include all five food group in the correct proportions is something people can fit into their daily routine if they are just shown how.

Why should Nutritional Education programs be implemented in the work place?
20 percent of adults are obese, and over 50 percent are overweight in the state of Missouri. Food choice is a large factor in this problem. Adults spend the largest part of their non sleeping hours at work; consequently their coworkers and the food available to them at work provide a great influence to their eating habits. By changing what is offered at work will force employees to make healthier decisions, which in turn could either make up for less wise nutrition decisions made at home, or help then start a healthier lifestyle all around.

A second reason why the work place is a great location to teach nutritional education is because individuals do not need to take extra time out of the day to fit it in. Another incentive for the businesses to have healthier employees is that it accounts for less sick days, increased attentive of the workers, and more productivity overall.

For more information on these programs, contact the Clay County Health Department, 800 Haines Drive Liberty, MO 64068: Phone (816)595-4200.

Resources:

Behavioral risk factor surveillance system [Data file]. (2007). Retrieved August 27, 2008, from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/age.asp?cat=PA&yr=2007&qkey=4419&state=MO.

1 http://www.dhss.mo.gov/MICA/ 2 http://www.clayhealth.com/ 3 http://cdc.gov