OEHN Medical Director Report

MEDICAL DIRECTOR REPORT

Vol. 3.3 Q3 2008

An Occupational and Environmental Health Network Publication

Getting the Weight Off: Workplace Weight Management Programs

The percentage of adults classified as obese doubled from 1980 to 2000 to 31 percent of the population, now nearly 65 percent of American adults are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Being overweight constitutes a risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and some cancers, just to name a few and costs US companies an estimated $13 billion per year according to the CDC in healthcare costs, paid sick leave and life and disability insurance. (To see how obesity has spread, take a look at some startling maps from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Health insurance costs for overweight employees range from $5000 to $7800 per year, compared with an average $3900 for employees in the normal weight range. It’s in the employers’ best interest to offer a weight-management component in benefits or wellness plans. Providing access to diet and exercise options can help to decrease health care cost and as well improve morale, however, a study by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) found only 2% of the working population have participated in such programs. On a positive note, nearly half of the participants that did participate reached and maintained their weight loss goals. They reported some factors that lead to success were support groups, trained professional guidance, convenience and encouragement.

Changing the habits of a few workers may affect the behavior of many more. Nicholas A. Christakis, a doctor and a sociology professor at Harvard, has studied the effects of social networks on obesity. When one friend gains or loses a lot of weight, he found, the odds improve that another will, as well. “You can take advantage of this multiplicative power of networks: my behavior influences you, and you influence the next guy, and so on,” he said.

Weight Management Program Guidelines

Guidelines for creating successful workplace weight management programs include:

Management Involvement: Ensure managers are on board and support programs at meetings and take an interest in employee success and outcomes. Encourage managers to take part themselves and serve as role models.

Employee Recruitment: Employers need to make a strong effort to get employees to participate from the very onset of programs. Offer fun incentives to sign up and have fairs, meetings, or free gym/workout sessions. Incentives can also include pedometers, cash for each pound lost, movie tickets, etc. Other cash incentives, like payments to employees for completing questionnaires assessing their health, discounts at health clubs, reduced health insurance premiums can also encourage employee recruitment,

Promote, Promote, Promote: Visibility and constant communication ensures consistent participation. Programs often start out with a bang but can fade as time progress, be sure to keep employees on board with frequent updates and communications. Promote healthy eating options by stocking vending machines with “healthy” foods only or offering price discounts on healthy lunch options in cafeterias. To encourage exercise, many organization offer on-site fitness centers or membership discounts at gyms.

Enlist Trained Professionals: This can include an Occupational Nurse to assist in leading the program. Other options are Weight Watchers, yoga instructors, personal trainers or a contract with online resources such as Web MD or Stay Well that provide online tracking tools for employees.

Encourage a Team Atmosphere: Nothing makes a bigger difference than getting support and encouragement from your colleagues. Create teams between departments or from the list of participants and encourage healthy competition. Teams that achieve their goals should be rewarded but be careful not to penalize those who fall short to avoid the risk of violating anti-discrimination laws.

Share Successes: Seeing results is a great motivator, and proving the program works will keep employees and management excited and participation levels high.

By the end of any employer sponsored weight management program, whether its been 4 weeks or 4 months the goal should be to support employees in making behavioral changes that will result in a healthier lifestyle long term. Beyond healthy employees, employers can benefit from reduce healthcare costs, absenteeism and decreases in life and disability insurance premiums.

Real Life Examples

Over the last few years, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) has revamped its wellness programs to emphasize weight and nutrition. It has also added some modest financial incentives for participation, like payments for filling out personal health evaluations.

The programs have not yet changed overall injury rates, but the employees who used all the services have 18 percent fewer missed days than their counterparts.

“Engagement, engagement, engagement,” Dr. Mack said. “That’s the goal.”

Other companies like Sprint, in Kansas City, MO planned its 200-acre world headquarters with an eye to fitness. It banned cars, forcing employees to park in garages on the far side of a road ringing the campus and walk between buildings as much as a half-mile apart. It put in hydraulic -- that is, slow -- elevators and wide, windowed staircases to encourage people to walk rather than ride between floors.

Sources:

American Association of Occupational Health Nurses

Holland, Kelley. Waistlines Expand Into a Workplace. 22 June 2008. New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/jobs/22mgmt.html

NYT: Fighting Against Fat in the Workplace:

Zernike, Kate. Fight Against Fat Shifting to the Workplace. 12 Oct 2003. New York Times http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E0DB133FF931A25753C1A9659C8B63&fta=y

Babcock, Pamela. “Getting the Weight Off” HR Magazine Jan. 2008: 61-66

Work-Life and Human Capital Solutions. “Helping Employees with Weight Loss” http://www.workfamily.com/work-lifeclearinghouse/TipoftheMonth/tip0009.htm

HR Daily Advisor. “How Far Can You Go in Controlling Employee Health?” http://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/archive/2008/06/09/HR_Policies_and_Procedures_Wellness_Justification_Costs_ROI.aspx