Did you wonder why many of your colleagues were overweight when you first started working as a nurse? If not, maybe you were just too overwhelmed with the fact that you finally made it in the healthcare industry. But as months pass by, you noticed that you, too, are gaining weight as your nursing uniforms are starting to get too snug already. What seemed to be a mere sight is finally dawning in your mind; healthcare is afflicted with the rest of the world’s most acquired disease, obesity.
The reason for obesity epidemic among nurses is the lack of proper and healthy diet itself. It’s something that nurses cannot simply own due to the overwhelming tasks. Hearing complaints about not being able to take lunch is all too common. In fact, you would rather wonder if you know somebody was able to fully and regularly spend his or her lunch break over a healthy meal. In many cases, they’d only be given a few minutes to grab a donut, some cookies or pizza pie, and then, they’ll run back to their tasks again. It’s also normal for them to take their lunch one or two hours after their scheduled break time. Sometimes, they won’t even be able to eat at all.
How many times were you able to sit comfortably in the pantry during your lunch break? And can you name a handful of your coworkers who bring healthy veggies and fruits regularly? Were the resident doctors and nurses in your hospital even urged you to eat healthy?
More than anybody in hospitals, healthcare workers need to stay as healthy as ever because the patients, the patients’ loved ones, and their own families rely on them. It just so happen that their very job does not allow them that, an issue that is, well, too often overlooked. Sadly, these are the very same people who are trusted for care. When we know they don’t do well for their own health, should we be worried about our safety or does it undermine our nurses’ integrity as professionals?
In a country where nurses are outnumbered by patients, ensuring utmost health of healthcare workers is the least that hospital administrators can do. It might not be as huge as salary increase, but is sure gives a good dose of positive energy. And it’s a good thing that there are those who also work hard to promote healthy diet among healthcare professionals, and become role models themselves with their choice of food.
