Let’s celebrate our working hearts and raise awareness in the workplace now so we can all continue to be healthy and live the life we love! World Heart Day was created to inform people around the globe that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading cause of death, claiming 17.2 million lives each year. Below are some World Heart Federation suggestions for promoting heart health at work.

A workplace wellness programme does not need not be complex or expensive.

Many businesses have recognized the importance of employee health to achieve core business objectives  and have committed to include health promotion on their corporate agenda. However, it is still mostly large corporations that offer workplace health programmes.

Tips for employers:

• Offering information to workers, such as leaflets telling people about the risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
• Establishment of health policies, e.g. no tobacco use in the building.
• Encouraging good eating habits, e.g. offering information about the calorie and fat content of canteen food, adding more whole grain meals, natural products, fruits and vegetables on the menu.
• Encouraging workers to exercise during their breaks. A moderate amount of exercise – at least 30 minutes a day – can reduce the risk of heart disease.
• Offering easy access to drinking water for employees, partners and suppliers in office buildings, outdoor worksites and  in meeting rooms.

Tips for employees:

• Healthy food intake – Eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Make smart choices, like choosing the ‘healthy menu’ in your canteen or bringing your own food from home.
• Get active and take heart – Even 30 minutes of activity can help to prevent heart attacks and strokes  and your work will benefit too. Take the stairs, go for a walk during your break, or get off the bus a couple of stops earlier and walk the rest of the way.
• Use less salt and avoid processed foods – Try to limit your salt intake to about a teaspoon per day. Be wary of processed foods, which often contain high levels of salt.
• Say no to tobacco – Your risk of coronary heart disease will be halved within a year and will return to a normal level over time.
• Maintain a healthy weight – Weight loss, especially together with lowered salt intake, leads to lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for stroke and a major factor for approximately half of all heart disease and stroke.
• Know your numbers – Visit a health-care professional who can measure your blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, together with waist-to-hip ratio and Body Mass Index. Once you know your overall risk, you can develop a specific plan of action to improve your heart health.

These ideas can implemented to improve employee health regardless of how big your company is. These low-cost and simple strategies to promote health and wellness at work so are readily available and require just a little time and attention but give massive benefits. What are you waiting for?

We work with small to medium business in Brisbane and the Gold Coast to help them promote the health and wellbeing of their staff at work with inspirational education, health events, workshops, personal consultations and more. Healthy people = happy business and we understand the importance of keeping expenses down so we provide low-cost corporate health and wellness strategies for your people in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.