Good food, healthy eating and wellbeing at work are all themes being embraced by Plymouth University as part of National Dietitians Week.
From 6-10 June, the University’s dietetics staff will be raising awareness of the profession and highlighting how eating well and regularly can help to improve health and happiness.
Organised by the British Dietetics Association (BDA), Dietitians Week is now in its third year and takes on the theme of ‘workplace health’ for 2016.
Each day of the week has a different theme related to food in the workplace and, to coincide with Wednesday’s topic of ‘protecting your lunch break’, the University’s campus cafés are offering a 20 per cent discount on food for staff on 8 June.
Other daily themes are food and mood, which aims to combat the negative effects of hunger; hydration, which raises awareness of drinking enough fluids; and movement, establishing whether people have enough chances to be active in their working day.
The University, in conjunction with the BDA, is asking the public to take part in the week by tweeting pictures of their food to @DietitiansWeek and @plymuni with the hashtag #DietitiansWeek.
Mary Hickson, Professor in Dietetics, hoped that many people would engage with the week’s messages and take time to consider their food and working practices:
“Dietetics is such a broad subject,” she said. “Ranging from the science of how certain foods affect the body, to how culture and routine affect our eating habits. It will be great to use this week-long event to encourage everyone to really think about what they eat, when they eat, and why, as well as highlighting the great work that dietitians do to help people make the most from their food choices. Wednesday 8 June will see us encourage everyone to take a proper lunch break, which is vital as it can support concentration and decision-making. We’re very grateful to the campus cafés for helping us to promote this.”
Matt Hodson, Commercial Services Director of University Commercial Services Plymouth, which runs the campus cafés, said:
“The University’s catering team is delighted to be supporting Dietitians Week and we hope lots of people will take advantage of the special food offers throughout the campus.”
For more information about the week’s events visit https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/national-dietitians-week.
