Putting Health on the Agenda
July 2010

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How to conduct a healthy meeting

By Rachel Naud

Planning a meeting or event has changed over the years.

Meeting delegates no longer want to sit in board rooms all day, eating stale pastries and drinking copious amounts of coffee. Instead, they want a selection of nutritious food to help stimulate their minds and bodies, and activities that will challenge them both physically and mentally.

That said, as our culture becomes increasingly more health-conscious, meeting planners need to make the well-being of the delegates a priority from the get go.

When planned correctly, hosting a healthy meeting really pays off. According to The Health Communication Unit at the Centre for Health Promotion at the University of Toronto, the return on investment for hosting a healthy meeting is $8.81 per dollar spent.

“It has become a priority for an employer to have healthy employees,” says Francis Pare, account manager for Zeste Incentive in Montreal. “A healthy body equals a healthy mind. And companies are investing so much money into these meetings or events that it's important to get as much out of these meetings as possible. That way delegates can take what they learn and apply it. At end of the day, the ROI is way better.”

Hannah Westner's life's work is to spread the word about how to conduct healthy meetings. Part of her position as wellness consultant with the Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport at the New Brunswick Wellness Strategy, has been, in conjunction with the four Atlantic provinces and their premiers, to create a Healthy Meetings Policy Template, entitled Putting Health on the Agenda.

The mission of the template is to make support and advice available in the beginning stages of implementation, while meeting planners, including administrative support staff, adopt the policy.

“All the data shows us that people are getting heavier and less healthy,” says Westner. “Even people who aren't overweight show signs of reduced health in terms of physical condition and we all sit too long and don't exercise enough. Yet we eat more and eat bigger portions, so there's an imbalance. We're trying to change a culture.”

In lieu of super-sized muffins and sandwiches laden with fattening mayonnaise, the agenda promotes serving healthier options that are lower in fat and salt, subsequently reducing the amount of sugary sweets available and serving smaller portions.

“Portion size is huge,” says Westner, pardoning the pun. “We don't need to eat a giant sandwich and a giant cookie if we're sitting in a meeting all day. Why not serve mini-muffins instead of big ones.”

The agenda also advises meeting planners to take heed when ordering the quantity of food for their meeting.

“If you have a meeting for seven people, order for seven people, not 13,” explains Westner.
Beverages are another area of change the template is trying to tackle.

Drinks high in sugar and caffeine, such as pop, coffee and tea are meeting and event staples. However, the agenda is promoting serving water, juice and milk as other healthy options.

But creating healthy meetings doesn't just stop at food and beverage service.

Although Pare says it's not common practice for meeting planners to carry around Epi-pens should a delegate go into anaphalaxis shock due to a food allergy, he does stress the importance of checking – and double-checking – delegates' food allergies before serving any meals.

“In terms of allergies, it's a no-brainer,” says Pare. “When dinners and food are involved, delegates’ food sensitivites and allergies need to be established during the planning process, so we know prior to the event if someone has an allergy. And during the event it is important to ask again. It’s life threatening. In this area,you need to be proactive. It's a responsibility.”

Pare says as part of his healthy meeting agenda, he makes sure a CPR-trained person is on staff at all times, in case of emergencies. And although his company doesn't carry around its own defibrillator, he says the vast majority of venues have one on-hand.

In addition to food precautions, encouraging and including physical activity as part of the meeting agenda is an integral factor in planning a healthy meeting.

“It creates community. It adds a new level to your corporate culture,” says Trina Lambe, owner of Train by Trina in Toronto, which specializes in in-house personal training and corporate wellness. “Including physical activity in a meeting or event creates a feeling of value. It says that you care about your employees inside and out. It also increases productivity, alertness and attention to detail.”

There are a number of ways in which to add exercise to the agenda.

Lambe says team-building activities such as mini office tri-athalons, inspire and motivate employees to compete and get active.

“Make teams and get participants to do lunges down the length of a boardroom, do chair squats and 30-second jogs on the spot,” explains Lambe. “These are all things people can do without getting completely sweaty and messed up.”

Incorporating stretch breaks is also a great way to rejuvenate delegates – especially after a few long hours of sitting.

“Stretching increases blood flow and brings about awareness and mental alertness because you're  using your body, which you haven't been using in the past few hours,” offers Lambe.

Lambe also suggests using breakout sessions as physical rewards. Each breakout session should feature a different activity, whether it's a 20-minute massage, a walking tour around the grounds or a stretching session.

“Throughout the day, alternate delegates through each breakout session,” says Lambe. “So at 10 am they might go for a massage, do the walking tour at noon and then stretch at 2:00 pm.”
Westner adds that you can also include exercise while getting the job done.

Conducting brain-storming sessions while walking around the block or including five-minute stretch breaks are just a couple of ways to include physical activity – the options are really endless.  Although, the most important factor is to plan it. If delegates are left to their own devices, they'll most likely sit and not be active. But when executed properly, including physical activity can have a great impact on your event.

“A short walk helps people be more alert and more involved in the meeting,” says Westner. “It leads to interesting new combinations of people, new discussions and more people are able to concentrate on the subject of the meeting. It will be a more successful meeting when people aren't tired and sluggish because of sitting in a meeting all day.”                

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