Act Now BC - Healthy Work Environments

The competing demands of work, family and/or personal responsibilities often mean less time or energy for health prevention behaviours like physical activity. These pressures often lead to other physical and emotional health issues such as unhealthy eating, tobacco use and substance misuses. A healthy work environment environment can enhance the health and well-being of employees and benefit the community as a whole.

Canadians spend an average of 10.5 hours each day at work (or commuting to and from), making the workplace an ideal place to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours like healthy eating and physical activity.

If you plan meetings, events or conferences, you can help people to make healthier choices – to eat healthier foods, and to be more active – and your meetings, events and conferences will likely be more successful as a result.

The Eat Smart Meet Smart resources can help you do that.

The Eat Smart Meet Smart booklet provides useful tips for planning healthy meetings, events and conferences – including information about portion size, quantities to order, and the kinds of foods and beverages you can serve to help people feel more energized and productive.

The Eat Smart Meet Smart Healthy Meeting Order Sheets guide you in selecting the healthiest foods and beverages for breakfast or morning snacks, lunches, dinners and afternoon snacks.

The Eat Smart Meet Smart Healthy Meeting Checklist can help you keep track of catering details, and the instructions you need to provide to the catering company or food provider.

More About Accommodating Food Allergies or Dietary Restrictions will prompt you to ask for important dietary information and keep track of participants’ dietary requirements.

The Eat Smart Meet Smart Healthy Meeting Policy statement can be posted at your place of work to promote your organization’s commitment to supporting healthy lifestyle choices, and the Eat Smart Meet Smart Certificate can be posted at your event to let participants know your meeting has been planned with healthier choices in mind.

The Eat Smart Meet Smart resources have been developed by the following partners of the Western and Northern Canadian Collaborative for Healthy Living.

The Western and Northern Canadian Collaborative for Healthy Living is a partnership of provinces and territories working together to create health-promoting environments and help Canadians make healthy lifestyle choices.

Creating a Healthy Work Environment

The Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport participated in a one-year pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of health interventions and strategies to promote a healthy work environment. The Healthy Work Environment Initiative provided information, opportunities and support to employees with the goal of increasing physical activity and healthy eating, decreasing tobacco use and managing employee stress. ( Evaluation Report on the Stairway to Health Initiative )

The following materials will provide best practice and evidence-based resources, tools, links and ideas to plan and implement healthier choices in the workplace.

Healthy Work Environment Initiative Resources:

Workbook: Will assist in the development or enhancement of healthy work environment activities.
Toolkit: Templates and tools to provide health practice activities that support healthier choices in the workplace.

Supporting Materials:

Activity posters
Stairclimbing posters: one , two , four , five , six , seven

Healthy Choices in Vending Machines

While a vending machine is often the only option for a quick snack, junk food shouldn’t be. The Province is leading the way by ensuring that healthier options are available, because we all have a responsibility to make healthier food choices – for ourselves, for our families and as a society.

To learn more about the Province's approach to healthier food choices in public buildings, click here.

For a list of the "Choose Most" and "Choose Sometimes" foods that meet B.C.'s nutrition standards for schools and public buildings, visit www.brandnamefoodlist.ca.

The Brand Name Food List:

The Brand Name Food List helps workplaces identify healthier choices among ready to eat, packaged, and franchise foods and beverages. Foods are searchable by name, or brand, and are categorized based on nutritional value (Choose Most, Choose Sometimes, Choose Least, Not Recommended).