During the discussion, experts addressed issues such as the importance of employees’ individual nutrition styles for the employer, the choice of foods to maintain good health and work efficiency, and ways to promote proper eating habits in the team.
- A healthy diet of employees is a long-term benefit for the company – employees are less likely to get sick, and are more motivated and engaged at work.
- Healthy eating should be one of the cornerstones of organizational culture, along with elements such as physical activity and stress management.
- Healthy eating habits are an investment in the company’s future – the process of implementing them should be gradual.
- Leaders and managers should play a key role in promoting healthy eating habits in order to effectively instil such a culture throughout the organization.
Expert debate on conscious nutrition
The second edition of the “Wellbeing Breakfast” entitled “Wellbeing Starts in the Kitchen” was dedicated to healthy eating due to the many challenges associated with this issue:
- Inadequate diet is one of the top five risk factors for premature death and chronic diseases (WHO, 2024).
- Approximately 60% of Poles are struggling with overweight or obesity (National Health Fund, 2024).
- Approximately 3 million Poles suffer from diabetes, and 5 million have the so-called prediabetes (Polish Diabetes Association, 2024).
Meanwhile, a healthy diet has many benefits. Suffice it to say that workers who use it are as much as 25% more productive than those who eat unhealthily (HBR, 2024). Given the substantive approach to nutrition issues, we invited renowned experts to participate in the “Wellbeing Breakfast”. The format of the meeting was informal, and the guests – who were present both on-site and online – took part in the discussion, hosted by presenter Jarosław Kuźniar.
The panel discussion included:
- Alicja Baska – physician, certified specialist in lifestyle medicine, Organizational Director of the Polish Society of Lifestyle Medicine,
- Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka, PhD in Economics – Director of the Institute of Healthcare Management at Lazarski University,
- Daria Gradziuk – psychologist and psychodietitian, Wellbee expert,
- Damian Parol, PhD – dietitian and psychodietitian,
- Marta Pawłowska – expert in health promotion and disease prevention, chairwoman of the Presidium of the Stop Obesity Partnership,
- Andrzej Silczuk, MD, PhD – physician, psychiatrist, Chief Medical Officer of Wellbee,
- Piotr Szostak – Managing Director for Strategy and Product Development, Benefit Systems.
We broadcast live coverage of the event on our YouTube channel. Thanks to this, the audience watching the event online also had the opportunity to ask questions. During the discussion, experts exchanged experiences and ideas for implementation in organizations.
7 key findings from the discussion:
1. Healthy nutrition is one of the key factors affecting wellbeing in both personal and professional life, as well as in a broader social and business perspective.
2. At the company level, proper diet is a guarantee of better performance for the entire team – it prevents diseases, extends healthy life and reduces absenteeism.
3. There is no single optimal “longevity diet” – however, you can choose particular products from diets considered to be the healthiest (e.g., the Mediterranean diet) and combine them with healthy products available locally.
4. Key dietary elements for brain health include omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, vitamin D, selenium, fish, fruit, whole-grain products, legumes, nuts, water, green tea and coffee (3-5 cups of both drinks per day).
5. In a company, it is worth acting systemically – implement a psychodietetic strategy that will enable a change in eating habits, both at the employee and organizational level.
6. Creating an environment conducive to healthy eating in the workplace and ensuring education in this respect will benefit the entire company.
7. A healthy diet supports physical activity and interpersonal relationships – not only in private, but also in professional life.
Can we separate mental health from nutrition?
This question was answered by Damian Parol, PhD. He stressed that we definitely should not separate mental health from metabolic health. We now have a lot of evidence showing that the two areas are closely linked. Among other things, the brain is made up of fats, so an adequate supply of omega-3 fatty acids is of great importance for its health. The dietitian noted that B vitamins, vitamin D and selenium were also important for brain health.
Andrzej Silczuk, MD, PhD, also addressed this issue, mentioning that the first analyses of the relationship between our brains and what we eat date back to the time of Hippocrates. As he pointed out, the current state of our mental health influences the composition of our diet at any given time.
Changing habits starts with awareness
Daria Gradziuk said there was no change without awareness. So the whole process of change should start with realising what you want to change, and then it is important to personalize the goal and the action plan. In practice, this means that in order for change to be sustainable, it must be tailored to the individual, taking into account the person’s resources, such as time, organizational, financial, physical, health and mental ones, as well as the current lifestyle. In such a situation, we increase the odds that the change will be permanent, and the process itself will be as “painless” as possible.
The expert pointed out the crucial importance of psychodietary strategies, which, when properly tailored to a particular person, can be very helpful in taking care of wellbeing. They allow to change eating habits, but also mental health, since these two areas of our lives cannot be treated separately. Thus, supporting an employee in taking care of their wellbeing, both in terms of diet and mental health, is key to an effective and sustainable change process, which translates into, for instance, efficiency at work. It is a good idea for the whole process to be monitored by specialists such as dietitians, psychodietitians or psychotherapists.
Optimal diet for health
Referring to examples of specific diets, Alicja Baska pointed out that there was no single optimal “longevity diet”. However, there are some touchpoints between the most popular diets, such as the Mediterranean diet, and related ones, which means that its benefits can be enjoyed not only in Greece, but also, for example, in Poland.
The expert also noted that the average Pole consumes nearly 50 kg of red meat annually, but only 3 kg of legumes, although they are a good source of plant protein. She also pointed out the importance of fluids in the diet – not just water, but also green tea and coffee. According to studies, 3-5 cups of both drinks a day can positively affect life expectancy.
Benefits of healthy nutrition
Alicja Baska added that according to a meta-analysis published in the PLOS Medicine journal, changing eating habits can extend life expectancy by up to 13 years, and the earlier we implement changes, the better.
At the same time, she pointed out that it was not only what we eat that matters, but also with whom. Eating meals with loved ones, which becomes a shared celebration, has a positive impact on health and significantly increases the chances of sticking to a healthy diet. And such a lifestyle is associated, for example, with the Mediterranean diet mentioned above.
Change is a challenge
Speaking of challenges, Daria Gradziuk stressed that we must learn to distinguish between emotional and physiological hunger. The former occurs regardless of the state of satiety, while the latter results from actual needs of the body. This means that you should build awareness of the process of eating itself and think about what real function food serves for you at any given time – whether you eat because you are actually hungry, or because you want to improve your mood.
The need to change eating habits applies, for example, to the consumption of sweets. It is not necessary to exclude them from the diet, but to learn to eat them in conscious manner. And while this type of change is a major psychological and physical effort, it is worth it because of the health benefits.
Marta Pawłowska noted that the word “diet” was associated with restrictions, although it should be associated with freedom. This would ensure that diet would be seen not as a sacrifice, but as the basis for a healthy lifestyle. And this is important, because nutrition is not only an individual issue.
What can employers do to help?
Marta Pawłowska cited OECD data showing that by 2050, Poles’ lives will have been shorter by as much as 4 years due to obesity alone! Obesity is not only a health problem, but also a social and economic one. This is because over the last 40 years we have evolved into an obesogenic civilization, creating an environment conducive to obesity. As a result, we are increasingly overnourished quantitatively and undernourished qualitatively. And on top of that, we are less active in our daily lives. For example, in the 1960s., 70% of occupations were related to average physical activity, and today it is only 20%! The expert also added that 1 euro spent on obesity prevention saves 6 euros on treating obesity and the more than 200 complications it leads to.
Daria Gradziuk stressed that the public debate should focus more on a holistic culture of health and on implementing specific solutions to build it. This means, among other things, that decision-makers in companies need to be aware that nutrition is a very important aspect of life, which translates into the quality of work, as well as relationships within the team.
The importance of “health capital”
During the discussion, Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka, PhD in Economics, emphasised the importance of “health capital”. As she noted, it translates directly into finances – at both personal and state level. This is because, as she reminded, in the event of a sick leave, the employee would receive only 80% of their remuneration. And if they were to work despite the illness, then their productivity would be much lower – and such presenteeism means tangible losses for the company. In turn, the state budget incurs costs in the form of outlays for medical care, social security benefits, including disability pensions, and the cost of lost productivity of the sick.
Małgorzata Gałązka-Sobotka said it was better to invest in preventive measures, especially since Poland is a country increasingly affected by a demographic crisis, as well as an epidemiological one. According to the expert, in this situation there should be a “reset” of the current health policy and much more resources should be allocated to educate the public, including employers, about disease prevention and its effectiveness.
In the final part of the discussion, the experts agreed on the direction of key actions at the company level – the consistent formation of an organizational culture that supports healthy nutrition for employees, and thus both personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of the organization.
Multi.Life will help you in the change!
Before the start of the panel of experts, Piotr Szostak, Managing Director for Strategy and Product Development at Benefit Systems, gave a presentation on the new version of Multi.Life. New features include:
- Psychodietetic support – more than 300 Wellbee psychotherapists.
- Wellbeing Assistant – AI support (estimating the calorie value of a meal based on a photo).
- Coming soon – a meal diary – monitor the meals consumed and its components.
What is the idea behind it?
- Full support for lifestyle transformation – qualified experts + artificial intelligence.
- Building habits that are beneficial to health and wellbeing.
- Achieving goals related to improving mental health, nutrition and personal and professional development.
We would like to thank you for participating in the event and remind you that the broadcast video is available on the Multi.Life channel on the YouTube platform: