Clinical

Promoting and supporting healthy eating among nurses

Why you should read this article:

To enhance your knowledge of healthy eating

To recognise the challenges nurses experience in maintaining healthy diets at work

To identify how workplaces can be adapted to support nurses to eat healthily

Maintaining a healthy diet is important for health and longevity. Many diets are recommended for their health-promotion properties. Despite their role in providing health education to patients, nurses do not always maintain healthy diets themselves. The literature shows that a significant number of nurses are overweight or obese. This article reviews the recommended healthy eating guidance and explores why nurses may not always eat healthily. It appears that several characteristics of the nursing role and workplace – notably shift work, fatigue, stress, and suboptimal facilities and availability of healthy foods – make it increasingly challenging for nurses to maintain healthy diets. The article also discusses strategies employers can use to adapt the work environment to support healthy eating.

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