Workers to get free fruit in trial project

Led jointly by researchers at Newcastle University and the Technical University of Denmark, the 'Fruit at Work' study aims to find out if offering free fruit in the workplace can improve employees' health and wellbeing. The project, which starts today is the first of its kind in the UK and to launch the trial 500 volunteers are being recruited from Durham County Council. For the next six months, half the volunteers will receive two free pieces of fruit a day while the control group will initially continue with their normal diet. Measuring key indicators such as weight, blood pressure and waist size, the study will also look at the number of sick days staff take, staff morale and overall productivity. Project lead Professor Chris Seal, of Newcastle University, said: "We all know how much fruit and vegetables we should be eating a day but many of us still don't do it. When you ask people why they don't, the two most common answers are cost and availability. This initiative overcomes both these problems. "The idea is that if people have easy access to, say, an apple or banana, then fruit will replace the less healthy snacks which so many of us reach for when we take a coffee break." The 'Fruit at Work Study' falls under the ISAFRUIT Project, an EU funded, 13.8 million Euro international study involving 300 scientists from 16 different countries. As well as looking at the individual health benefits of eating more fruit, the study will measure the cost-effectiveness to an employer of offering free fruit to staff. In Denmark, free fruit at work is provided by over 60% of companies. Over the next six months, the experimental group at Durham will consume an extra 20 tonnes of fruit – an estimated 160,000 apples, bananas and oranges. Dr Phil Wynn, Senior Occupational Physician for the County Council, said: "The County Council is keen to pursue a broad agenda promoting workplace health and well-being support for its staff. The 'Fruit at Work' project is an element of this and will help determine whether this is an effective workplace intervention meriting long-term implementation." Charlotte Bryant, a research nutritionist at Newcastle University and co-ordinator of the ISAFRUIT project in the UK, explained: "We're not asking people in the control group to stop eating fruit – if they would normally have an apple at coffee time then that's fine. What we're interested in is increasing people's consumption of fruit and the effect that might have on their health."