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The SA Wellness Review, a study commissioned by food brand Futurelife and employee well-being services provider HealthInSite , found that individuals who don’t eat breakfast, were:
- More likely to smoke (49% of breakfast skippers smoke, versus 16% of breakfast eaters)
- Drink more than three units of alcohol a day (51% of breakfast skippers drank more than three units of alcohol per day versus 32% of breakfast eaters)
- Were more likely to be physically inactive (36% of breakfast skipper were inactive versus 21% of breakfast eaters) - Complained of having high stress levels (36% of breakfast skippers complained of high stress levels versus 21% of breakfast eaters).
'What we eat is related to whether we exercise, smoke, manage stress, or drink excessively'
“The SA Wellness Review has uncovered findings that can assist us in understanding our nutritional shortcomings and why it’s important for us to improve. The statistics show that what we eat is related to whether we exercise, smoke, manage stress, or drink excessively,” says Futurelife’s Managing Director, Shaun Harris.
“Those that have good dietary habits are less likely to indulge in unhealthy choices and thus be healthier. This highlights that unhealthy habit clusters have a big role to play in a discussion around the health of South Africans, especially considering the fact that more than a third of all deaths in South Africa (37%)* are due to non-communicable diseases such as coronary artery disease, diabetes and hypertension.”
Results show that healthy living results in improved work productivity. “The SA Wellness Review shows that on average, people who make poor diet choices, for example, those who eat takeaways daily, are unproductive for nearly a quarter (23%) of their day - this includes time away from work, as well as wasted time while at work”, says Dr Denis Cronson, managing Ddirector of HealthInSite.
Dietitian Michelle Bristow says convenience, time constraints and accessibility are contributing factors when it comes to forming good eating habits. This can be corrected with the right attitude and approach to our daily habits and efficient solutions to assist our on-the-go lifestyles.
The study was done from a sample of 6 345 employees from 351 South African companies Of the 6 345 people who participated in the study, 55% are female and 45% are male.
