National statistics show that being obese or overweight, which is a key trigger for developing type 2 diabetes, is more common among Australian miners than other sectors of the population.

Many people do not know what the disease is and that it can be prevented with some simple lifestyle changes.

The Queensland mining sector is getting a shake-up from nutrition, exercise and wellness programs and a side serving in revolutionary health monitoring services.

Diabetes Queensland revealed a survey last year that found three quarters of mine workers were at a moderate or high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The effects of this could have significant implications for employers, communities and the Queensland economy. Unlike type 1 diabetes, which is not preventable, type 2 can be avoided through good nutrition, regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.

Of the mine workers surveyed, 77% said they ate fruit and vegetables every day but more than one-third were not getting at least 2.5 hours of physical activity per week.

Results from the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2008 estimated three in four mining industry workers were overweight or obese.

Obesity is a major driver of type 2 diabetes, a condition that can have serious consequences including heart attack, stroke, kidney damage, blindness and limb amputation.

Diabetes Queensland chief executive officer Michelle Trute said diabetes was a chronic condition.

“If we are to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes, we have to make people more aware of the risk factors and how to prevent it through healthy eating, increased physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight,” she said.

The state chief health officer’s 2010 report revealed diabetes was the third highest ranking disease burden in Queensland.

Of the 900 people who have diabetes in Mount Isa, 85% have type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes Queensland is concerned about the health of the population of mining workers and shift workers in the Mt Isa region.

“We hope to see the community of Mount Isa recognising the impact of this escalating epidemic and taking responsibility to prioritise healthy lifestyles,” Trute said.

“Research has found that people working long hours and those working in regional areas were more likely to be overweight or obese, which means that mine workers are at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and its long-term health complications.”

Statistics show people living in regional and remote communities across Queensland are 15% more likely to be obese than those living in the city.

Diabetes Queensland has developed a wellness package for the industry called Healthy Mining People. A pilot was implemented at Macarthur Coal in Mackay and New Hope Coal in Ipswich.

The package is part of the Know The Score – Healthy Worker program, which is available to businesses across Queensland to address the prevention of type 2 diabetes and to educate staff on the benefits of health and wellness in the workplace, where they spend the majority of their time.

Corporate packages include a diabetes awareness presentation by a health professional, diabetes awareness posters, a type 2 diabetes risk assessment kiosk, information booklets and a report outlining the risk of type 2 diabetes in the workplace.

“We spent time with the mining companies to look at who the target audience is and what is the best way to communicate with them,” Trute said.

Health assessments are used to identify if workers are at a low, moderate or high risk and a health professional presents nutrition and exercise advice. In the time Diabetes Queensland was based at the mines, 50% of participants indicated they had made changes to diet and lifestyle that month.

“These guys weren’t traditionally interested in their health and nutrition so the initial response to the program was a positive one,” Trute said. “You can’t force things onto people. They have to change things in their own time.”

A further 34% of mine employees indicated they were planning to make changes within the month.

Employees in the mining industry are more likely to fall into unhealthy habits more than other industries. Miners tend to work night shifts and start early, which can disrupt eating habits and cause balanced meals to fall out of sync.

Nutrition Australia senior nutrionist Aloysa Hourigan said signs of high blood pressure and being overweight were problems for the whole population but they seemed to be a lot higher for mining industry.

Unusual eating patterns can lead to people eating more food at one time of the day, eating a meal at the wrong time of day, missing a meal and being more likely to grab the easiest and most convenient option when they are too tired.

“We know that people who work shift work have a higher risk factor of not looking after their health – they are at more risk of not eating properly,” Trute said.

“If people aren’t sleeping properly then their brain isn’t functioning well either.

“Unusual sleeping habits can disrupt digestion, which means workers may be less likely to eat nutritious meals because they are not in the routine of eating prepared meals.”

Restless sleep doesn’t allow people’s bodies to completely relax and restore overnight, making them feel fatigued the next day.

To combat a bad night’s sleep, it is best if a main meal is not eaten directly before bed as it can cause stomach upsets.

Hourigan said people who ate heavy foods or consumed high levels of alcohol might have a less comfortable sleep, especially if they suffered from reflux.

She recommended eating low-fat dairy foods that contained calcium and l-tryptophan, which both help the body’s muscles and the brain to relax, to promote better sleep. Shift workers tired after a restless sleep are more likely to reach for sugary and processed foods and caffeine fixes for an energy boost to increase alertness during a shift.

“The mining industry is all about 12-hour shifts so it’s about making the 12 hours effective and ensuring the downtime is utilised in the best possible way to keep energy and alertness levels constant during shifts,” Trute said.

Eating three smaller meals and two to three snacks over a 24-hour period is more likely to fuel the body at a consistent pace to aid digestion and keep workers alert.

Then it comes down to a matter of portion control to avoid extra kilojoules, planning appropriate snacks such as low-fat yoghurt, fruit, cheese and crackers and ensuring the main meal is eaten early on in the shift.

Hourigan said there was no doubt those who ate high-fat meals were more likely to feel tired post-meal.

“If you are actually aiming for health and wellbeing and have good endurance energy, then you want to be eating food of good nutritional quality, foods lower in saturated fat, good vegetables,” she said.

“For portable lunches there are many healthy options, using whole grain breads and cereals, vegetables and adequate fruit.”

In remote communities people tend to create tight networks with their mates and share common activities.

Trute said it would be wonderful if that tight network also included going to the gym or kicking the football every other day rather than eating the wrong foods and going to the pub.

Miners generally have access to higher disposable incomes, which can lead many down the path of spending money on indulgent drinking sessions.

When the liver has to use its processes to detoxify alcohol then it cannot use the same processes to burn up fuel or digest food.

“If you’re drinking alcohol, you’re more likely not to be burning up kilojoules in the usual way and are more likely for it to be stored as fat,” Hourigan said.

Some mine workers believe a beer is the best way to unwind after a long shift. The Healthy Mining People program explains how exercise is the one of the best ways to clear the mind and relax the body after a long day.

Other benefits of exercise – even a half an hour jog each day – can be a more restful sleep, less tension, more energy in the day, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and improved heart function.

“If you jump on the treadmill for 30 minutes, you are going to feel just as energised as if you downed a Red Bull,” Trute said.

When workers are on rest and relaxation at home, there are even more opportunities to engage in activities to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This includes playing with their kids, meeting up for a game of football with friends or going for a long walk with their partner to catch up.

Mining giant Xstrata knows about the corporate benefits of health and wellbeing to improve staff engagement and reduce attrition. Xstrata Copper tried many different health and wellness initiatives over the years and wanted to start a program that was accessible to its workforce and allowed the collection of health data and research among its workers.

The company launched Shape Up Online in February, modelled on technology used by health group Kinetic.

Xstrata Copper North Queensland operations safety and health manager Maryann Wipaki said it identified an opportunity to get people more proactively involved in health and wellness. Initially, users profile themselves using the online system by entering their medical conditions and history, then track their health against gauges and goals.

From there they can record and monitor their exercise routine, nutrition intake and progress. Shape Up Online is also available to employees’ families and can be accessed from home.

Problems with previous Xstrata Copper campaigns were commonly based around people not sticking to a plan.

“In our experience you’ve got to participate in a program for at least a 12-week period before you actually change behaviour,” Wipaki said.

Workers are also more likely to stay committed to the goals they set when they have their family network, friends, parents, children and partners involved. The concept is that the community as a whole benefits from everyone aiming for good health and wellness.

The system can support workers by providing access to updates on the latest in health, wellness and stress management advice.

The information recorded in Shape Up Online is confidential. The only data collated is grouped together with trends and figures from each site at Xstrata’s north Queensland mining operations, not on an individual basis.

“This information is recorded in real time and we get monthly reports to identify the demographic data and select the most appropriate health campaign,” Wipaki said.

“We can actually target campaigns to address the issues which are real in Queensland, real to us and our work force.”

The data will be useful in identifying risk assessment tools for different demographics.

Already 412 people have enrolled in Shape Up Online. Initial data showed 63% of the issues being reported were based on diet and nutrition, 49% were on sport and fitness and 58% concerned weight control.

Xstrata’s north Queensland workers are a combination of fly-in, fly-out and residential, so it will be interesting to discover what the health impacts are between the groups once data is returned over the next few months.

“There are similar issues [between FIFO and residential workforces] but we’ve never gathered data to be able to identify that clearly,” Wipaki said.

“There’s information out there where articles suggest that miners carry more weight than other people.

“Shape Up Online allows us to gather some of that data and compare it properly against factual information.

“We do know anecdotally that FIFO operations can be prone to more weight gain than a DIDO [drive-in, drive-out] operation, as it is associated more with shift work and disrupted routine. We want to be able to put some weight behind these studies with our own workforce data.”

A healthy work force has been linked to increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and attrition, good staff morale, a positive company image to help job retention and the ability for organisations to attract recruits.

Decreased injuries and workplace compensation claims are another good reason for organisations to invest in health programs. And matching people who are physically suited to their roles helps better manage risks.

According to Medibank Private Australia, healthy employees are three times more effective than unhealthy workers.

The Medibank study revealed work performance could be improved anywhere between 4% and 15% through participation in regular physical activity.

“Someone who is healthy has the mental capacity to manage information a lot more effectively than someone who is unhealthy,” Trute said.

People are more productive when healthy as they think clearer, have higher energy levels and increased brain responsiveness.

“If you have an employee who is working out at the gym regularly, they are more likely to be able to multi-task more effectively than someone who isn’t,” Trute said.

“Because they just get bogged down in things, they don’t have any clarity and thinking outside the box can be a challenge.”

Medibank said unhealthy workers took 18 sick days a year on average, in comparison to two days annual sick leave for healthy employees.

Absenteeism and staff turnover are big issues for mining companies. Research shows unhealthy employees are nine times more likely to be absent due to illness.

Every staff member a minesite hires costs money to retrain, so healthy employees are a good investment.

They are more likely to stay in their role when they experience a higher level of work satisfaction and engagement with their colleagues.

Some mining companies have sought out Nutrition Australia Queensland’s help with healthier menus in staff canteens and cooking demonstrations to educate mine workers on how they can make healthy food choices.

Some of the popular sessions cover topics such as nutrition for shift workers, boosting your energy and food labelling education surrounding the levels of salt, sugar and saturated fat in food.

It can pay for a company to offer healthy meal options, a gym or fitness program and health assessments as part of the employee benefit too.

For each corporate dollar invested in physical activity, Medibank said there was the potential of a $3.40 return due to productivity gains, reduced staff turnover and medical claims.

This article first appeared in the June 2012 issue of Australian Longwall magazine