The way to worker productivity is through bellies: ILO
GENEVA: A poor diet on the job costs the world as much as 20 per cent in lost production, with workers in poor countries too malnourished to do their jobs properly while their counterparts in industrialised nations are too fat, an International Labour Office (ILO) study says.
“Poor meal programmes and poor nutrition underlie so many workplace issues: morale, safety, productivity and the long-term health of the workers and nations. But few workers are happy with their meal arrangements,” said the study’s author Christopher Wanjek in a statement on Saturday.
Even if employees had access to canteens at work, the fare was often monotonous and unhealthy, while vending machines were stocked with fatty snacks, the study found.
Local restaurants were often costly, street food posed risks of food poisoning, or workers had neither the time nor the place to eat a healthy meal.
“Too often, food at work is seen as an afterthought or a hindrance by employers and is often a ‘missed opportunity’ to increase productivity and morale,” the ILO said.
The study found workplace meal programmes could prevent nutrient deficiencies, chronic diseases and obesity while increasing output.
Modest investments in such programmes would soon repay employers through reduced sick days and accidents, the ILO said.
“It is important to note how prevalent iron deficiency is and how cheaply it can be remedied. Low iron, which affects up to half the world’s population, is tied to sluggishness and diminished cognitive ability, and thus accidents and low productivity,” Wanjek said.
Iron deficiency alone cost southeast Asian countries about five billion dollarsper year in lost production. Malnutrition cost India 10-28 billion dollars, equivalent to 3-9 per cent of its gross domestic product.
The world was confronted by a rapidly deteriorating “food gap”, with a billion people suffering from malnutrition while a similar number in wealthy nations were over weight or obese, the study found.
“Wealthy nations face the staggering cost of chronic diseases and obesity. Neighborhood intervention isn’t working. Providing healthy food at work is the best way to get people to eat at least one healthy meal a day,” Wanjek said.
Access to healthy food at work was as important for employees as protection from hazardous chemicals and industrial noise, the ILO said.
Diet-related diseases accounted for about 46 per cent of illnesses and 60 per cent of deaths worldwide in 2001, while cardio-vascular disease accounted for 30 per cent of deaths.
In the United States, where more than two-thirds of the population is over weight, obesity cost business 12.7 billion dollars a year in insurance, paid sick leave and other costs, the study said.—AFP
