Barriers and enablers for nutrition and exercise influence health behavior in employees

According to a new study published online, good health behavior is influenced by barriers and enablers. The researchers conducted a survey online on 111 employees from 55 organizations in order to identify barriers and enablers for exercises and nutrition so they could develop health promotion strategy in the office settings. The study result revealed that fatigue and access to unhealthy food are the greatest and most common barriers against physical activity and nutrition. Enjoyment of exercise and nutritional knowledge were enablers for healthy behavior. "Many barriers highlighted the limited amount of time available to employees outside of working hours and the need to ensure healthy and supportive environments in the workplace," the authors write. "Intervention-strategy preferences demonstrated employee support for health promotion in the workplace." The research was published in Preventing Chronic Diseases by the Centers for Disease Control.