June 20, 2008

U.S. News & World Report

Healthy Eaters Are More Energetic Workers

One more reason for employers to start snooping in your brown bag:  A new study from ComPsych, a provider of employee assistance programs, found a significant correlation between balanced nutrition and at-work energy and productivity.

The study found that half of all employees with balanced diets reported having high energy, compared with only 5 percent of employees with unbalanced diets. Also from the ComPsych survey:

• Of employees with healthy diets, 73 percent reported having high levels of productivity, compared to 24 percent of employees with poor dietary habits.
• Fifty-one percent of ideal weight employees had high morale, while less than half that amount – 25 percent – of very overweight employees had high morale levels.
• Fifty-seven percent of healthy weight employees reported high levels of productivity, while only 27 percent of very overweight employees reported being highly productive.