Research on health-conscious food consumption in Zala county – the role of enterprises in health promotion

Péter, Erzsébet – Németh, Kornél – Kaszás, Nikoletta

Keywords: food ingredients, consumption, prevention, health consciousness, organisational culture

By studying health-conscious consumption through the analysis of demand and supply, we highlight how consumers are open towards how their eating habits have changed in the past few years, both at national level and in Zala County. Nowadays health-minded enterprises put great emphasis on prevention of illnesses and on the preservation of good physical and mental condition of colleagues by applying health oriented work organisation, since it may improve work efficiency. The results show the smaller the enterprise and the more intimate the atmosphere, the better is the employer’s understanding of the demands and problems of their employees and the greater is the importance attached to offering fringe benefits (canteen services etc.). Paying attention to co-workers is also important, which may be noted at multinational companies as well, although it seems to be the result of conforming to rules. It is present in the organisational culture on the premises, since it aims to consolidate unity, improve well-being and make working more effective by using primary prevention. However, fringe benefits occasionally serve as substitutes for wages and have no direct impact on health-conscious nutrition; food consumption is mainly influenced by food trends and the income level of the consumers.
The present research evaluates the preventive approaches to health and the amount of financial support received by the employees based on the size class and category of enterprises. The results are determined by the quality and the direct/indirect impacts of the working environment that affect our health in several ways. Workplace health promotion is a profitable activity, since the employer, the employee and the social system all have an interest in the profit. Poor health may cause the very same loss to the companies as permanent absence from work. Owing to these facts, employers consider workplace health promotion important and support it by giving health-related fringe benefits to their employees.

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