New guide on healthy nutrition at work
The Instituto Nacional de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo (INSST), Spain’s national institute for occupational safety and health based in Madrid, published the guide “Nutrición y Salud Laboral” on 1 October 2026. The guide addresses the relationship between nutrition and well-being in the workplace and offers practical, science-based recommendations for promoting healthy eating habits among employees. According to the INSST, nutrition should become a fixed part of workplace health promotion strategies, aiming to improve physical and mental health, reduce absenteeism and support productivity.
Three chapters: from basic principles to workplace policy
The guide is structured in three chapters, moving from general basic knowledge to the design of the workplace. The first chapter covers the fundamentals of healthy nutrition. The second addresses nutrition tailored to different types of work and working conditions. The third chapter deals with the nutritional environment at work: organisational aspects, menu planning and what the guide calls “equidad alimentaria”, or equity in access to healthy food. The guide also includes practical recommendations, sample menus and tools for application in different work contexts.
What does this mean for HSE professionals?
The INSST describes the aim of the guide as providing “tools and technical criteria” for integrating nutrition as a key element in workplace health promotion strategies. In doing so, the institute treats nutrition not only as a personal lifestyle choice but also as an organisational matter: the guide’s third pillar, after all, concerns the nutritional environment and menu planning at the workplace itself. For HSE professionals outside Spain, the guide can serve as a reference for incorporating nutrition into health promotion programmes, alongside existing attention to ergonomics, psychosocial load and physical safety, regardless of whether regulations in their own country explicitly designate nutrition as an occupational health topic. The guide is written in Spanish.
Context
International attention to nutrition as part of occupational health is nothing new. The ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety, in its chapter on worksite nutrition programmes, notes that overweight and obesity can occur in 25 to 30 percent of the population in some developed countries, with a higher mortality risk due to, among other things, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The same source cites guidelines for fat and salt intake, and recommends, for physically demanding work, half a litre of water per 0.5 kilogram of weight lost per day through exertion, to compensate for fluid loss through sweat. Nutrition in the workplace has therefore long been recognised as a topic within occupational health; the INSST guide translates this into current, practical recommendations.
Source: Guía “Nutrición y Salud Laboral” – Año 2026, 01-10-2026
Additionally consulted: ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety – Worksite Nutrition Programmes
