EXCLUSIVE: Research and development organisation the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has run a series of nutrition and wellbeing days for employees at its sites in Southampton and Liverpool.
The events were run by provider SuperWellness, and took place in October 2019, following an earlier day-long session at the Southampton location in August of this year. The most recent events comprised a full day in Southampton and a half day in Liverpool, taking place on 8 October.
More than 100 of the NOC’s employees took part in the wellbeing event, which was open to all 650 staff members, including office workers and senior management, as well as seafarers and scientists. It was planned to coincide with the safe return and docking in Southampton of the NOC’s two research ships, the James Cook and the Discovery.
The theme for this month’s events was ‘nutrition to power your day’, with a focus on the role of nutrition in influencing both physical and mental health. The sessions were delivered by qualified nutritionists, specialising in workplace nutrition.
The wellness days included an interactive workshop, group coaching, quizzes and food tastings. Attendees were able to learn practical meal ideas and take the time to make their own individual meal plan.
The interactive workshops also included information on how food impacts brain chemistry, the science behind food cravings, and what nutrients are needed on a daily basis.
During the group coaching sessions, employees were offered body composition testing, and allowed them to receive personalised nutritional advice, based on factors such as muscle mass, weight and metabolic age.
The nutrition and wellbeing days were promoted to staff via screens placed around the offices, as well as on posters on the organisation’s ships. Senior management also spoke to employees in person about the upcoming events.
A spokesperson from the NOC’s HR department said: “It’s the best wellness event we’ve ever had.”