Promoting heart healthy foods in a worksite cafeteria : a pilot nutrition intervention

Abstract

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, this trend being also manifested in Malta. Despite the fact that a number of risk factors can lead to CHD, diet has been established as a key contributing factor. Measures are being taken worldwide to reduce the incidence and risk of CHD, particularly through improved dietary behaviour. Point-of-purchase [POP] nutrition education and interventions are increasingly popular strategies implemented with the aim of improving food choices. The results of such POP foreign initiatives are discussed and recommendations from them implemented in a quasi-experimental pilot project carried out in the canteen of a factory in the south of Malta. This project, entitled 'Saħħet Qalbek ... F'ldejk!', consisted of three phases spread over ten weeks, incorporating assessment of heart health-related knowledge and attitudes and food consumption recording for two weeks pre-, during and post-intervention. The project participants consisted primarily of a group of married female Maltese workers aged 26 - 40 years. The intervention process was made up of the nutritional analysis of the factory canteen menu, the introduction of heart healthy specials, menu-labelling and table tents and set-up and follow-up interviews. The short-term impact of this project on the heart health-related knowledge, attitudes and food choices was a positive one. The results suggest that there is a need for this health issue to be given much more importance in the running of worksite cafeterias and similar concerns and for health education strategies to be implemented in different sectors at different life stages. Recommendations for modifications in the intervention process of future projects are also made.