Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland has been recognised by the Irish Heart Foundation for leading the way in prioritising employee heart health.
The company was amongst 98 workplaces from around the country which were represented at the recent annual Irish Heart Foundation Happy Heart Healthy Eating and Active@Work Awards in the Gibson Hotel, Dublin.
Allergan Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in Westport, Co Mayo, received a bronze Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award and a gold Active@Work Award from the Irish Heart Foundation.
The Irish Heart Foundation’s Active@Work Award, launched in 2013, is presented to workplaces in recognition of their efforts to increase employees’ physical activity levels at work. Fewer than one-third of Irish adults meet the minimum recommended physical activity level of 30 minutes of moderate activity five times a week and Irish adults are spending on average 7.3 hours every day sitting down. Research shows that people who sit for prolonged periods are more than twice as likely to develop heart disease and stroke, even if individuals are regularly physically active, while one third of premature heart disease has been associated with poor diets alone.
Presenting the awards, Tim Collins, CEO of the Irish Heart Foundation, said: “Workplaces represent an ideal setting in which to support people to make healthy changes to their diet and lifestyle and it is heartening to see so many companies across the country prioritise their employees’ heart health. Achieving these awards requires great commitment and today we recognise the significant effort each of these companies has put into creating healthy, positive working environments for their staff.”
Biddy O’ Neill, Healthy Ireland, added: “As workplace wellbeing gathers momentum it is essential that employers embrace the concept of providing leadership and support for programme implementation including the Irish Heart Foundation’s workplace programme.”
The Irish Heart Foundation’s Happy Heart Healthy Eating and Active@Work Awards are supported by the HSE and Healthy Ireland.
