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Want to lose weight? Tell your boss

By providing healthy food in their cafeterias, corporates are giving their all to keep their employees healthy and happy.

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In a time when every third woman suffers from Poly Cystic Ovarian Disorder and one out of seven Indians is diabetic, corporates in Bangalore feel the pressing need to introduce healthy snacks and meals in their cafeterias.

“A year ago, GE started paying significant importance to the health of employees globally, keeping in mind that healthy and happy employees are more productive and innovative,” says Bansi Phansalkar, general manager, GE Aviation.

“As per standards set by GE, the infrastructure of all our office campuses gives significant importance to health and fitness of employees. For instance, 50 per cent of the food available in our cafeterias falls under the ‘healthy food’ bracket. In fact, each and every item in the meals served during breakfast, lunch and dinner display calorie values on it.

Moreover, GE provides 100% healthy food at events that are sponsored by the company.”

Healthy cafeterias are part of GE’s Health Ahead campaign, which was certified just a few weeks ago. “Apart from providing healthy food at the campuses, we also provide nutritionist services and gymnasiums to our employees, especially for those who are suffering from lifestyle disorders like diabetes, obesity and so on. While employees pay a subsidised amount for the cafeteria food and gym workouts, consulting the campus nutritionist is free of charge,” says Phansalkar.

Take the case of Alagarswamy, a GE employee for almost a decade. He weighed more than 80kg a few years ago. Thanks to the nutritious food served at the GE cafeteria and diet charts, today, Alagarswamy weighs 70kg.

Another company that is known for pampering its employees to the extent that they don’t feel like returning home is Google. Their cafeterias, apart from being swanky, are known for their healthy quotient.

“Easy access to healthy nutritious food is part of the Google culture and each country undertakes several initiatives to keep Googlers healthy and fit. Food items served in the café have their nutritional value clearly displayed. Employees are encouraged to share regular feedback on meals that are served and meals that they would like to include in the menu. One of our company’s key objectives is to help improve Googlers’ lifespan and we continue to implement creative and innovative ideas to help Googlers stay healthy,” says a spokesperson from Google, India.

In the quest to spread awareness about health among employees, corporates now hold workshops and lectures in offices too. Diet charts and fresh fruit juice stalls have become common features in cafeterias today.

“We have nutrition charts in place that give out the nutrition value and calorie count of almost all food items that are served in the cafeteria. The calorie content is calculated keeping in mind the components of each food item that is served. It’s a standard chart that we have in the cafeteria for employee awareness,” says Ravishankar Channabasappa, country manager, ISA, Integrated Health Services, IBM India/SA.

“IBM also organises a semi-annual programme called ‘Healthy eating and Healthy living’, which educates employees on calorie values of common Indian food items and making healthy choices.
Dieticians are invited to educate employees on a variety of issues pertaining to changes in lifestyle, dietary requirements and supplements, right eating patterns etc. IBM ensures maximum participation for these programmes across locations through a variety of mailers, information notes that are sent out to the employees along with posters and so on,” he adds.

IBM also has a programme called ‘Health Risk Assessment’, which includes “a health screening and an access to an online health questionnaire, following which employees get a personalised health report and a group report is shared with us, providing some direction in terms of the ailments/lifestyle disorders majority of the employee population suffers from today,” adds Channabasappa.

Another IT company in Bangalore that is contributing to its employees’ healthy lifestyles is Dell. “Dell has outsourced its kitchens and cafeterias in India to top caterers and these kitchens operate 24x7 and serve low-calorie and freshly-prepared food. Monthly meetings on nutrition are also conducted for the employees,” says Deepak Ohlyan, director, facilities, Dell India.
  

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