As elaborated in a GAIN evidence brief, poor-quality diets and insufficient food quantity are linked to reduced work capacity. This suggests that the malnutrition burden can be partly addressed through a win-win-win approach which improves individual lives, business outcomes, and national economies.
Individual outcomes observed as a result of workforce nutrition programmes have included increased job satisfaction, reduced sick days, higher consumption of healthy foods, and increased duration of exclusive breastfeeding, amongst others. Business outcomes are reduced absenteeism, enhanced productivity, reduced medical costs, and significantly lower rates of accidents and mistakes, which together could lead to an increase in the national GDP.
Therefore GAIN, as part of the the Workforce Nutrition Alliance, urges Bangladesh’s regulators and policymakers to support employers by further developing and implementing public policies for improved workforce nutrition.