Employee Health Promotion

Advantages of Nutrition Programs

Nutrition directly impacts nearly every aspect of physical and mental health. A healthy diet can help protect against such conditions as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, stroke, certain cancers and depression. Obesity, which is among the most common conditions linked to diet, affects a record number of Americans.

The American Journal of Health Promotion estimates the cost of obesity to U.S. business to exceed $12.5 billion in health care, sick leave, and life and disability insurance. Further, one study reports that obesity raises healthcare costs by 36 percent and medication costs by 77 percent. To offset the health risks of obesity and poor diet, many organizations have committed to helping workers ensure proper nutrition and undertake weight control initiatives.

Popular nutrition initiatives:

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
1. Provide healthy eating reminders and prompts to workers via multiple means (i.e. e-mail, posters, payroll stuffers, etc.).
2. Provide appealing, low-cost fruits and vegetables in snack machines and in the cafeteria.
3. Provide cookbooks, food preparation, and cooking classes for workers’ families.
4. Ensure onsite cafeterias follow healthy cooking practices and set nutritional standards for foods served that align with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
5. Provide healthy foods at meetings, conferences, and catered events.
6. Use point-of-decision prompts as a marketing technique to promote healthier choices.
7. Provide healthy cooking demonstrations that teach skills (i.e. fruit and vegetable selection and preparation).
8. Provide taste-testing opportunities at the worksite.
9. Provide worker-led campaigns, demonstrations or programs.
10. Provide local fruits and vegetables at the worksite (i.e. worksite farmer’s market or community-supported agriculture drop-off point).
11. Use competitive pricing (price non-nutritious foods in snack machines and cafeterias at higher prices).
12. Provide protected time and dedicated space away from the work area for breaks and lunch.
13. Make kitchen equipment available to workers.
14. Provide an opportunity for onsite gardening if possible.

Sweetened Beverage Consumption
1. Make water available throughout the day.
2. Provide appealing, low-cost healthful drink options in snack machines and the cafeteria.
3. Modify worksite snack contracts to increase the number of healthy options.
4. Price non-nutritious beverages at a higher cost.
5. Use point-of-decision prompts to promote healthier choices.

Portion Control
1. Label foods to show serving size and/or nutritional content.
2. Provide food models, food scales for weighing and pictures to help workers assess portion size.
3. Provide appropriate portion sizes at meetings, worksite events and in the cafeteria.

Nutrition initiatives in action

While many organizations address weight management through fitness initiatives, organizations are increasingly focusing on nutrition through separate programming. Recognizing the productivity boost and lowered medical expenditures that come with maintaining a healthy weight, many organizations may help pay for obesity treatments for workers. For example, to improve the health of dangerously obese workers, drug maker Wyeth reportedly pays for stomach-shrinking surgeries that carry price tags of up to $40,000.

A 2003 Society of Human Resource Management study shows that 24 percent of employers offer weight loss initiatives. In Ohio, Honda offers an onsite, registered dietitian who provides individual or group consultations on weight management. Body fat analysis and body mass index (BMI) measurements are available to workers at any time.

At Grange Insurance’s Columbus headquarters, the cafeteria chef analyzes meals and provides workers basic nutrition information, including Weight Watchers points. Many organizations partner with the American Cancer Society to offer nutrition information through the ”5-ADay” program, which provides employers free signage and educational materials about the importance of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The program also offers a fruit and vegetable ”frequency card” that gives workers a free portion of fruit or vegetables after he or she has purchased a preset number.

Advantages of Fitness Programs

Exercise reduces weight, lowers risks of heart attack and stroke, helps to control blood pressure and diabetes, and improves mood. Studies increasingly show that exercise may also help reduce the occurrence of certain types of cancer. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently documented another major advantage: exercise improves the health of the nation’s medical care expenditures.3 According to the CDC, physically active individuals incur $865 less per year in medical costs than inactive workers.

Dr. Michael Moore, vice president and chief medical director at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, maintains that exercise is the most effective tool in health maintenance. “If you could prescribe exercise in a pill, it would be the number-one prescribed treatment in the world,” he said. In step with Dr. Moore’s prescription, nearly one-third of U.S. businesses help workers pay for gym memberships, according to an Associated Press report. Subsidizing gym memberships is just one way organizations promote active lifestyles.

Popular Fitness Initiatives:

1. Allow access to on- and off- worksite gyms and recreational activities before, during, and after work hours.
2. Provide and promote participation in after work recreation or leagues.
3. Provide cash incentives or decreased insurance costs for participation in physical activity and/or weight management or maintenance activities.
4. Provide shower and/or changing facilities onsite.
5. Provide outdoor exercise areas such as fields and trails for worker use.
6. Provide bicycle racks in safe, convenient, and accessible locations.
7. Provide onsite fitness opportunities, such as group classes or personal training.
8. Provide an onsite exercise facility.
9. Set up initiatives that have strong social support systems and incentives, such as:
• Buddy or team physical activity goals
• Programs that involve workers and family
• Programs to promote physical activity, such as pedometer walking challenges
• Explore discounted or subsidized memberships at local health clubs, recreation centers, or YMCAs
10. Provide flexible work hours to allow for physical activity during the day.
11. Support physical activity breaks during the workday, such as stretching or walking.
12. Host walk-and-talk meetings.
13. Map out onsite trails or nearby walking routes and destinations.
14. Have workers map out their own biking or walking route to and from work.
15. Post motivational signs at elevators and escalators to promote stair usage.
16. Provide exercise/physical fitness messages and information to workers.
17. Provide or support recreation leagues and other physical activity events onsite or in the community.
18. Begin worker activity clubs such as walking or bicycling clubs.
19. Provide onsite child care facilities to facilitate physical activity.
20. Sponsor a bike to work day and reward workers who participate.
21. Set up a box and solicit fitness and health tips.