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Published Tuesday, August 8, 2000, in the San Jose Mercury News

healthy benefits

BY JULIE SEVRENS
Mercury News

AS FAR as corporate perks go, it isn't nearly as appealing as a slew of stock options or as sexy as a new Porsche Boxster.

Employee recruitment campaigns are much more likely to boast of ``Company break rooms stocked with free chips and cookies!'' than ``On-site nutrition counseling available!''

But in an area that has long valued workplace pizza parties, doughnut runs, giant boxes of Cheez-Its and communal candy jars, a change is taking place. Some of the Bay Area's largest employers have begun to offer in-house nutrition guidance -- one-on-one sessions with a dietitian for a fee -- and many employees are eating it up.

``There's a huge need for it. You have people working 10 to 12 hours -- they break away just long enough to get a candy bar from the vending machine,'' explains David De Wald, manager of the wellness program at Redwood City-based Electronic Arts. The company first made nutrition counseling available to its employees 10 months ago and has since seen 10 percent of its fitness center members take advantage of the service.

``Anyone and everyone can benefit from proper nutrition,'' De Wald says.

Indeed, as brown-bag cuisine has given way to the power lunch, as home-cooked meals have been replaced by fast food and junk food, employee waistlines have gradually expanded.

An estimated 97 million adults -- 54 percent of the U.S. public -- are now considered overweight. Fully one-fourth of U.S. adults can be classified as acutely obese.

But while many of us may fret about our weight and poor eating habits, few have the know-how to successfully do something about it. And after a long day at work and a lengthy commute, even fewer have the energy and desire to make the positive dietary changes.

``When you've got a family to deal with and when you're running around trying to get everything done in your life, proper nutrition takes a back seat to convenience,'' says Lillian Castillo, a public health nutritionist with the Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System.

California health surveys have determined that lack of time is one of the leading barriers to local residents' consumption of enough fruits and vegetables. And nearly half of professionals with high incomes -- a population that historically avoided burger joints -- now report eating fast food when they dine out.

``Some people, they just don't have time for anything more than opening up a package,'' says Gigi Acker, a registered dietitian who now counsels employees at Cisco Systems, Intuit, Gap and Electronic Arts. ``Snacking is no longer an option but a necessity.''

And therein lies the problem. Americans now find themselves feasting on 23 pounds of snacks per capita each year, according to government estimates. When the snacks come from vending machines and are made of chocolate, caramel or fried potatoes, poor nutrition, general sluggishness and obesity are to be expected.

What Acker primarily finds herself doing as a nutrition counselor to harried workers is explaining the difference between a healthy snack and a poor one. She gets employees to examine their lifestyle and eating habits and suggests ways they can make gradual changes in their diet without having to starve themselves or give up flavor or texture.

Usually the solution is for workers to recognize they can -- and will -- be snacking and to plan accordingly, packing fresh fruit in a briefcase, stuffing energy bars or unsalted nuts in a desk drawer, slathering peanut butter on a bagel and eating it in the car.

She urges clients to pack a low-fat yogurt in a cooler and sprinkle it with granola for a midmorning snack. She recommends munching on a bag of whole grain cereal throughout the day, and sipping on low-fat milk instead of soda.

Other options include fruit smoothies with a protein boost, hard-boiled eggs, pre-sliced vegetables, packaged salads and packets of oatmeal with hot water added.

``There isn't a one-size-fits-all type of eating,'' she says. ``But if you can plan on snacking every day and have convenient options around that is helpful.''

When Acker started working with corporations, she wasn't sure if it was a message anyone wanted to hear. While she knew there was a need for her services, many of the businesses she approached had no interest in paying for her guidance. And so employees typically pay the full cost of Acker's counseling, while employers provide an on-site space for the dietitian to meet with workers.

Ease of access

The convenience is what many employees seem to have been looking for.

``I wouldn't have gone to a nutritionist unless it was here,'' says Jackie Cunningham, a Web program manager at Cisco Systems who started meeting with Acker in May.

Since nutrition counseling is now offered at her work two days a week, the single mother finds that she has been able to take a break from work, meet with the dietitian for an hour, and then return to her desk. If Cunningham had to battle Bay Area traffic to keep such an appointment, she wouldn't be able to fit it into her schedule, she says.

The fact that Cisco makes an effort to offer such programs on its campuses is one of the reasons Cunningham has stayed with the company five years, she says.

It is expected that in order to attract and retain talent, many other Silicon Valley businesses will also have to make dietary counseling available to employees.

For years, leading employers have established other aspects of company health improvement programs, creating on-site gyms, ergonomics programs and stress-reduction classes. But when it comes to nutrition, the programs have been less than adequate, offering at best occasional healthy eating seminars or in-house weight loss support groups.

``I think it's a little surprising that this was overlooked,'' says Camille Haltom, a health care consultant for Hewitt Associates, an Illinois management consulting firm.

And as it stands now, a large majority of the nation's corporations are still not offering comprehensive nutritional counseling, despite the many tangible benefits, Haltom says.

Productivity gains

Employees with access to nutrition education ``may miss less work, they may be less distracted, they may have less episodes where they're going into the hospital,'' she says. ``There is a health and productivity gain for employers to put these programs in place.''

Karen Caveney knows. The human resources technology worker has already noticed improvements in her health in the eight months she's undergone nutritional counseling at Electronic Arts.

``I've probably lost about 12 pounds and just feel a little more energy,'' says Caveney, 30, who typically works 50 or 60 hours per week, and is in the office on most weekends.

While Caveney still hates to cook and hasn't overcome her weakness for iced mochas, it hasn't been too hard for her to include healthier items in her daily diet.

``I'm more mindful of what I'm eating now,'' she says. Nutrition counseling ``brought to the front burner the awareness of which foods are better for me.''

Admittedly, not all workers want to give up their love affair with the office doughnut box, but Acker believes many are looking for help balancing their diet.

``People are realizing that these long days, these demanding days, they're here to stay,'' she says. ``They have to learn a new way to eat to stay energized and to stay healthy.''