BOOK REVIEW |
Food at Work. Christopher Wanjek. Published by ILO Geneva, 2005. ISBN 92-2-117015-2. Price: 60 Swiss francs (hardback). 448 pp.
The issue of food at work has not been prominent in either occupational health or in public health consciousness. Yet the White Paper ‘Choosing Health’ identifies the workplace as a key site for the delivery of health promotion advice and for interventions to improve the health of the workforce. But even Choosing Health does not consider the issue of food supply as a means of enhancing worker productivity, a relationship which this book promotes through a series of case studies from a global perspective.The author is a freelance health and science writer based in the USA who has a master's degree in environmental health. His perspective is one of a global need for improved access to food in the workplace. He makes a convincing argument for developing countries where there is a high rate of nutritional deficiencies in the workforce and where inexpensive simple measures taken by an employer can remedy ill-health both in the individual and in their families. There are some excellent case studies of such interventions in migrant workforces in the Indian subcontinent and in remote locations in Canada. The businesses showcased clearly revealed that there are benefits in ensuring the supply of food in terms of improved productivity and greater worker satisfaction. Whether the same benefits would be experienced in the developed world, however, is not really debated and there appear to be presumptions that what applies and works there will also work here.
I was not clear who the intended audience was but policymakers and occupational physicians with responsibilities for overseas operations would find this a useful perspective and provide ideas about possible interventions.
The book is comprehensive and covers all the main issues and provides ideas how nutrition could be improved for various groups of workers including those who rely on street vendors, who live far from work and who have caring responsibilities. It is readable but there is a lot of repetition if it is read cover to cover. Some statements about iron-deficiency anaemia appear four times in the book. There are also many opinions about what businesses must do without any real argument as to why they should do it.
That said, the case studies are enlightening, particularly the ones from Scandinavia (not five-a-day fruit and vegetable consumption but six-a-day) and from the Dole company (think tinned pineapple). One message which comes across clearly in the book is that the most radical efforts to improve nutrition in the workplace come from chief executive officers who are committed to healthy living themselves rather than from a developed business or moral case.
To the general occupational physician the book is likely to be no more than an interesting overview but not particularly relevant to UK practice. For the international occupational physician it's a ‘should’ read if only for the ideas about improving the health of an overseas workforce.
Rating
(Borrow from the library)
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