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Company Obesity: The Facts

Company obesity has become one of the fastest growing healthcare problems in America. It is well known that America is considered one of the, if not “the”, heaviest countries in the world. This is largely in part due to fast food, un-healthy snacks and a very sedentary lifestyle. However, what many people are not aware of is that the rate of obesity in our country has doubled in the last 30 years and this weighs heavily on a organization’s bottom line.

According to a new report from The Conference Board, Weights and Measures: What businesss Should Know about Obesity, obese workers cost private organizations an estimated $45 billion annually. Here are some of the report’s findings:

Obesity is associated with a 36% increase in spending on healthcare, more than smoking or problem drinking.
34% of adult Americans fit the definition of “obese”
Obesity related health problems are costing U.S. businesses millions of dollars annually in medical expenditures and work loss.

Company Obesity: How organizations Can Help

With the increase in obesity and business costs associated with it, it is more and more imperative to develop a way to assist workers with their healthy living choices. Corporate Wellness Programs can help organizations help their workers. By offering assistance with Health Testing, Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals and by conducting Employer Health Promotion Program surveys; Corporate Wellness Programs allow the business non-invasive ways to communicate their concerns about their worker’s health.

We suggest establishing a Walking Employer Health Promotion Program to assist your workers in meeting their weight-loss goals. Walking Wellness is a program designed to get your workers away from their desk and get them outside for a little physical activity. Keep it fun by having contests, setting up weight-loss teams and having organized healthy picnics.

What is a Employer Health Promotion Program Proposal?

You probably have seen the term many times and wondered what exactly does it mean. A Employer Health Promotion Program Proposal is a proposal put together by a wellness consultant that makes suggestions for what type of Corporate Wellness Programs you should choose, what tools you will need to accomplish your corporation’s wellness goals, and costs associated with it.

Employer Health Promotion Program Proposals Assist Human Resource Departments

A Employer Health Promotion Program Proposal is a great thing to have in hand when HR Departments go to upper management to request funding for a Corporate Wellness Program. It will provide necessary stats and trends, background information, and costs that will enable the HR Department to fully present their case. Upper management will appreciate the preparedness and the research that has gone into your wellness request.

Employer Health Promotion Program Proposals Lead to Better Corporate Wellness Programs

A well thought out Employer Health Promotion Program Proposal can lead to a better Corporate Wellness Program, because the building blocks will already be in place. Employer Health Promotion Program Proposals will guarantee that your corporation gets the proper Employer Health Promotion Program established. Corporate Wellness Programs can vary greatly, but when your workers ask, you can tell them that they generally include the following:

Walking programs which provides workers with incentives to take their walking breaks at their workplace.
Company teams, worksite yoga classes and massage therapists at the workplace.
Nutrition advice, weight-loss and healthy cooking classes, stress management sessions, and either a Employer Health Promotion Program resources column in the worker newsletter or a wellness newsletter.
Stairwell initiatives to show how stair-walking can enhance health.

Wellness Challenges Are Popping Up Everywhere

Wellness Challenges are definitely hot right now and they are encouraging more and more people to get healthy and live better. Whether it is a city or a school or a social group or even a whole state, competitive spirits are being ignited by the challenge to be the healthiest team. The Wellness Challenges are usually about a six months to a year in length and they are made up of several teams, these teams all get points for physical activity, selecting healthy foods, and just making better life and health choices overall.

The best part about Wellness Challenges is even though there really is only way “real” winner; everyone that participates in the challenge is a life winner.

Wellness Challenges provides incentive to Get Healthy

Establishing a Wellness Challenges in your office is a great way to get workers to participate in your established Corporate Wellness Program. Have workers form teams and receive points for everything from attending a organization Health and Wellness Fair to getting a health risk assessment to starting an physical activity regimen. At the end of the year, the teams will win prizes based on the number of points they have accumulated.

Wellness Challenges Enhance Corporate Health

Not only will Wellness Challenges enhance the health of your workers, it will enhance the overall health of the corporation by offering benefits such as fewer injuries, worker’s comp claims, reduced healthcare costs, better worker attendance, and better organization morale.

Like we said earlier, everyone is a winner in a Wellness Challenges!

The 61st annual World Health Assembly is taking place this week in Geneva, Switzerland and at this assembly; the World Health Organization (WHO) is presenting its report titled “Preventing Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) in the Workplace through Diet and Physical Activity.”

The report calls for Corporate Wellness Programs to be promoted and implemented worldwide.

Importance of Corporate Wellness Programs

The report states that Non-Communicable Disease related deaths have surpassed transferable disease related deaths and have become the leading global killers. Examples of Non-Communicable Disease’s are heart disease, diabetes and stroke. In 2005, 60% of worldwide projected deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases. They are predicting that this health trend will continue through at least 2030.

Diet, caloric intake, lack of physical activity and tobacco use are the major risk factors in the cause of Non-Communicable Disease’s. Now more than ever, the understanding of the importance of health and wellness is crucial.

Corporate Wellness Programs are Effective Tools

The report states that Corporate Wellness Programs are found to be effective in improving health-related risk factors, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The report also states that Corporate Wellness Programs will enhance the health of workers, enhance the organization image, enhance worker morale, reduce worker absences and sick leave, increase worker productivity, and reduce organization healthcare expenses.

Corporate Wellness Programs Monitoring

Finally, the report mentions that to have a successful Corporate Wellness Program, monitoring and evaluation through Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals and health outcomes are essential and should be included in the Employer Health Promotion Program implementation. The evaluations ensure that the Employer Health Promotion Program developed meets the proper needs of the workers. Staff Members should be reevaluated on an on-going basis to make sure the Employer Health Promotion Program is still working, or to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made.

Employer Health Promotion Program ROI: Fact or Fiction?

Corporate Wellness Programs … do they provide a strong return on investment? This is a question that we are sure goes through ever organization’s mind. HR Magazine addresses the Employer Health Promotion Program ROI topic in their June 2008 issue.

Employer Health Promotion Program ROI: The Bottom Line

According to the article, titled “Finding Wellness’ Return on Investment,” determining Employer Health Promotion Program ROI is not an easy thing to do for businesses because it involves a lot of different variables and time.

However, the organizations that have taken the time to determine the Employer Health Promotion Program ROI of their Corporate Wellness Programs have found that it is quite significant. Not to mention, the Wellness program’s effect on the improvement of worker health and the slowing of the rate of their worker healthcare expenses.

Employer Health Promotion Program ROI Alliance

Employer Health Promotion Program ROI is such an important part of today’s organization culture, that several large organizations have come together to form the Alliance for Wellness ROI, Inc. According to the HR Magazine article, The Alliance for Wellness ROI was specifically created to address the lack of consistency in proving the value of Corporate Wellness Programs.

The alliance, formed by BMW of North America, Henry Ford Health System, Kraft Foods Global, MasterCard Worldwide and Schlumberger Limited, strongly believes in showing the value of Corporate Wellness Programs and want to develop a standard for how Corporate Wellness Programs are measured.

Corporate Wellness Programs Components

According the alliance, the following components should make up an organization-offered worker Corporate Wellness Program:

Employee assistance Program
Disease Management Program
Fitness and physical activity Programs
Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals
Workplace healthcare Programs
Personal wellness profiles
Preventive Health Testings and immunizations
Tobacco-cessation Programs
Phone based Corporate Wellness Programs
Weight Management and Weight Loss Programs
Self-Care Programs.

Wellness During the Summer

Wellness is important all year long; however if your workers haven’t gotten on the Wellness bandwagon, then now is the perfect time to get them there.

Summer is an ideal season to get back into shape and enhance overall Wellness.  The weather is beautiful, workers can get outside and they are motivated by the thought of having to wear clothes with less coverage.  Fitness, or lack of physical fitness, is apparent in the summer.

Wellness in the Summer has Advantages

There are many advantages to starting a Employer Health Promotion Program in the Summer.  Employees are more likely to get outside and walk or participate in group activities during the summer than they are in the cooler months of the fall and winter.  Summer is also a great time to start a Wellness challenge with your workers and celebrate the completion of the challenge with a member picnic or cookout.  Finally, it always seems easier to eat healthy during the summer with all the fresh vegetables and fruits that are available during this time.

Employer Health Promotion Program Kick-off

We recommend following these steps when starting a Employer Health Promotion Program in your office.

Pick a wellness coordinator for the Employer Health Promotion Program who is willing and able to see it through.
Make sure that you have the support of organization leadership.
Establish a Wellness committee
Make use of a Employer Health Promotion Program survey to uncover the obstacles and goals of your Employer Health Promotion Program
Provide Health Risk Assessments / Health Risk Appraisals
Analyze the Employer Health Promotion Program and changes as needed
Remember to stress that the Employer Health Promotion Program is for the employees.  Corporate Wellness Programs have been found to prevent obesity, cancer, heart disease and hypertension.  taking part in in a Employer Health Promotion Program that provides all that should be an easy decision for the corporation and for the workers.

Corporate Wellness Programs and Medical Care Costs

Corporate Wellness Programs are more important now than ever.  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, with the troubles in the economy it seems that the costs of business offered healthcare keep continuing to grow and it doesn’t seem like it is going to change.  The article states that during the year 2008, U.S. organizations can expect to see an increase of 10% in healthcare costs.

This increase in healthcare costs is causing some small organizations to reduce their worker health benefits or get rid of them altogether.

Corporate Wellness Programs for Healthier Lifestyles

Corporate Wellness Programs do provide an option for small organizations.  The corporations can provide discounted co-pays and deductibles to those workers that fully participate in the offered Corporate Wellness Program.  Full participation means getting health screens, receiving a health risk assessment, and then working with their wellness coordinator to work towards a healthier lifestyle.

The healthier the workers, the lower the overall healthcare costs for the corporation.  Just one lengthy hospital stay can almost deplete a small business’ healthcare budget.

Corporate Wellness Programs and Your Bottom Line

Corporate Wellness Programs provide many advantages to a organization’s bottom-line. Employer Health Promotion Program Statistics from Prudential Insurance show a benefit expense of $312 per person enrolled in a Employer Health Promotion Program compared to an expense of $574 per worker that wasn’t enrolled.  Coors Brewing Company showed a positive side-effect of member absenteeism dropping by 18%, thus greater production and less healthcare costs overall.