Days off and massages, exotic trips, oh my! Worksite wellness incentives

It is always interesting to read about successful worksite wellness programs and so I found this article on incentives, "Gym facilities, rewards, trips 'perk up' workplaces" very interesting. The article talks about a number of different companies and what incentives they have used to motivate employees to adopt healthier lifestyle habits. Several of the companies offered incentives to employees for participating in wellness activities whereas others offered rewards for actual behavior change. The range of incentives offered include discounted gym memberships, lower co-pays, paid days off, trips to exotic locations, free massages and/ or personal training as well as discounts on insurance premiums.

In my experience, an incentive program must first consider the "personality" of the organization as well as the history of wellness at the organization. A well structured program starts out with rewards which are relatively easy to earn (i.e. an employee must attend a screening and/or complete a personal health assessment) and become more progressively difficult, yet still attainable, over time. For instance, some of our clients that offer our Olympic Circle program provide incentives for employees who participate in a combination of onsite or web-based programs, including our 12-week wellness challenges or our popular productivity seminars as well as those who achieve or strive for health related goals. For instance, those employees who are able to lose weight or complete a smoking cessation program earn similar rewards to those who maintain a healthy weight or are already non-smokers.

The overarching goal, of course, for any health professional managing a worksite wellness program, is to offer these extrinsic motivators or incentives to employees and then have these new behaviors (physical activity and healthy eating, for example) become intrinsic so that employees want to continue them regardless of whether there is an incentive.

When designing the program, be sure to use your needs and interest surveys and personal health assessments for specifics on what behaviors employees are looking to change or adopt. Good luck!

Does your company have the right plan for wellness? Follow these steps.

As wellness becomes more respected as a means of moderating health care costs, more and more employers are looking to develop, launch and execute wellness programs. As any wellness professional would agree, this is great news! A recent national survey conducted by The Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA) found than 90 percent of businesses they surveyed, currently offer some form of wellness programming. Hooray!

The not so great news, according to the survey, is that these programs are not as strong as they could be.  A strong and successful wellness program must be carefully planned before it is executed. Unfortunately, according to this survey, over 90 percent of these businesses are simply offering activity-centered programs with little thought to the strategy necessary to promote the right results. These programs typically involve interventions, such as yoga, or Weight Watchers@Work, with little planning, strategy or evaluation measures included. In my experience, some companies claiming to offer wellness programs have the right intentions but the execution is not complete. Furthermore, when companies say they are offering wellness but aren’t reaping the rewards, they incorrectly believe that wellness programs don’t work.

In addition to setting up a long- and short-term strategy, this plan MUST be supported by an innate culture of wellness in the workplace. A company, for instance, with a plethora of unhealthy food in the cafeteria or vending machines which provide options that are high in fat, salt and sugar may make it more difficult for employees to achieve true lifestyle changes. 

Another hallmark of a strong and a positive result-generating wellness program is that it is data driven. In this case, the rationale, activities and the benchmarks are all evidence based using data derived from health care costs and EAP utilization, for example. Furthermore, evaluation methods must be set up in the beginning stages to be sure that results are evaluated and measured.

Developing a strong wellness program is better for employees (and the employer!) than the sporadic plans that are offered at so many companies, but they require clear intention and planning.  To design strategic initiatives, which best enhance employees' health and help employers manage health care costs, consider utilizing the following 7 criteria, offered by WELCOA and supported by research as effective in promoting appropriate behavior change and cost avoidance: 

1. Capture senior level support

2. Create a cohesive wellness team

3. Collect data

4. Craft an operating plan

5. Choose appropriate interventions

6. Create supportive environments

7. Carefully evaluate outcomes

We've seen these steps work for our clients and we are sure they can work for you! For more information on WELCOA’s Seven Benchmarks of Success visit

http://www.welcoa.org/wellworkplace/index.php?category=16 or our website at www.wellnessworkdays.com . 

NYT: While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales

Hello all!  I ran across this very interesting article and am just sorry that this appeared ONLY on page 11 of the NYT yesterday. It is really quite interesting.  The article describes an organization called Dairy Management, which "teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and proceeded to devise and pay for a $12 million marketing campaign." The problem?? "Dairy Management is a marketing creation of the United States Department of Agriculture — the same agency at the center of a federal anti-obesity drive that discourages over-consumption of some of the very foods Dairy Management is vigorously promoting".  HELP! This just doesn't seem appropriate. Remember, the USDA are the ones who publish the Dietary Guidelines for Americans as well! Please see the article below. 

The New York Times: While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales, November 6, 2010, By MICHAEL MOSS

Domino’s Pizza was hurting early last year. Domestic sales had fallen, and a survey of big pizza chain customers left the company tied for the worst tasting pies. Then help arrived from an organization called Dairy Management. It teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and proceeded to devise and pay for a $12 million marketing campaign. Consumers devoured the cheesier pizza, and sales soared by double digits. “This partnership is clearly working,” Brandon Solano, the Domino’s vice president for brand innovation, said in a statement to The New York Times. But as healthy as this pizza has been for Domino’s, one slice contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended amount of saturated fat, which has been linked to heart disease and is high in calories.

And Dairy Management, which has made cheese its cause, is not a private business consultant. It is a marketing creation of the United States Department of Agriculture — the same agency at the center of a federal anti-obesity drive that discourages over-consumption of some of the very foods Dairy Management is vigorously promoting.

Urged on by government warnings about saturated fat, Americans have been moving toward low-fat milk for decades, leaving a surplus of whole milk and milk fat. Yet the government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese.  Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate. Cheese has become the largest source of saturated fat; an ounce of many cheeses contains as much saturated fat as a glass of whole milk.

To read the rest, click here:

NYT: While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales

What Exactly Does a 6,190 Calorie Lunch Do to Your Body?

I came across this ABC story that ran a while ago but I just had to share it with you. It actually tells you what happens to your body FOR 6 HOURS after eating an unhealthy meal. Nothing good... and the results are immediate! Check out the 2 minute video. 

After reading a report by a consumer group about the effects of unhealthy food from popular chain restaurants, ABC's Yuji de Nies and Jon Garcia conducted a test to see how eating these foods for lunch would affect their bodies. 

Before they ate lunch, Yunji and Jon had blood samples drawn and an ultrasound done to test the health of their arteries.  They then sat down to a meal of 6,190 calories and 187 grams of saturated fat -- an appetizer, lunch and dessert from a popular chain restaurant. 

To see what happened to their blood and arteries immediately following the meal, watch the clip below.

click here to see the video news story

Wellness = Quality of Life

For those of us personally and professionally committed to wellness, we understand that a comprehensive definition of wellness includes fitness, nutrition, and healthy behaviors such as tobacco avoidance and stress reduction. But for so many others, until recently, wellness simply meant not being sick. 

According to a recent survey by The Hartman Group, wellness has now gone mainstream and is viewed as a marker for quality of life. Their results showed that the majority of consumers who responded included a range of components: physical fitness, stress management, and feeling good about themselves.  

While the definition of wellness will always be tailored to the individual, the good news is that more people are actively seeking wellness, including looking for information and how-to tips. Worksite wellness programs are the perfect opportunity to provide individuals with different levels of interest and participation in wellness behaviors with opportunities to learn about health-promoting behaviors and put them into practice.

Another encouraging finding of the survey was that consumers are more likely to seek foods to prevent disease rather than to treat it. This shows that consumers are focused on maintaining and improving their health, which is a key component of worksite wellness. Emphasizing prevention – taking healthy action to promote and preserve health rather than simply focus on fixing problems once they occur – is not only catering to what employees are looking for, but is also a great way to promote company health, including moral, increased productivity and reduced sick days and healthcare costs.

But while lots of good news was uncovered, the survey points out that not everyone is on board the wellness train. Twenty-five percent of respondents were categorized as being on the ‘periphery’ of wellness, meaning they are least likely to be involved in wellness. The ‘periphery’ approach tends to be more along the lines of avoiding ‘bad’ foods and behaviors as opposed to seeking out healthy choices. While the temptation of wellness enthusiasts and health-promoting products is often to bombard this audience with benefits and reasons why they should act, people don’t want to be ‘preached’ to. The power of worksite wellness programming is that by providing a variety of information and incentives through a range of medium, it provides equal opportunity and benefit to all individuals, no matter where they fall on the wellness spectrum.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS106164844120100824 

Public Health Enemy #1…and 2

An interesting article in the New York Times last week highlighted an inevitable phenomenon occurring in the world of public health…competition for dollars and attention. For years, smoking held the top spot as public health enemy #1, and along with this distinction came tremendous time, effort, and dollars spent in attempt to snuff it out. But in recent years, smoking has been edged out by big competition…obesity.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know that obesity, along with obesity-related healthcare costs, seems to garner the overwhelming majority of health-related media attention. And as this article points out, the prevention and research dollars have followed suit. As an example, one major source of private funding for public health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, who has spent two decades helping to reduce the nation’s smoking rate by almost half, has shifted their priorities in recent years to focus on childhood obesity. In fact, according to the article, the foundation spent nearly 15 times more on anti-obesity funding than anti-tobacco funding last year.

Some experts believe the shift in attention and funding is warranted, given that smoking rates have been driven down by previous efforts, while obesity rates have been rapidly rising. But anti-smoking advocates fear that the drastic shift will erode previous success while there is still much progress to be made.

The good news is, while there will always be competition for government dollars and research funding, individuals, families, schools and employers don’t have to choose. Rather, choosing to make overall wellness a priority means covering all the bases – including nutrition, smoking cessation, fitness, stress reduction and more. According to the American Heritage Medical Dictionary, wellness is “the condition of good physical, mental and emotional health, especially when maintained by an appropriate diet, exercise, and other lifestyle modifications.”

So by definition, wellness is an all-encompassing approach to health. Comprehensive worksite wellness programming allows participants to take positive steps in the areas where they struggle the most and rewards employers with healthier, happier employees, which translates to healthcare and productivity savings. So leave the competition for the sports field - choosing wellness is a win-win and one thing we can all agree upon!

Five Tips for a Healthy and Delicious Fourth of July BBQ

1. Have guests asking where’s the beef? This Fourth of July celebrate America’s birthday by ensuring all your guests have many more of their own! Skip the red meat (burgers, sausages and steaks) and replace it with lean protein such as skinless chicken or black bean burgers. Skip the saturated fat, without skimping on taste.

Spicy Black Bean Burger
• 1 15- to 16-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained
• 1/3 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup dry bread cumbs
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup bottled chunky salsa
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
Using fork, mash beans in medium bowl. Mix in onion, breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons salsa, cumin and hot pepper sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Using moistened hands, shape bean mixture into two 3- to 4-inch-diameter patties. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Brush barbecue rack with oil. Grill burgers until heated through, about 3 minutes per side. Grill cut sides of buns until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer burgers to bottom halves of buns. Spoon 1/4 cup salsa over each. Cover with tops of buns.

Source: http://www.epicurious.com/ 


2. Flip the Chips.
Potato chips and tortilla chips seem to be a staple at every summertime barbeque. This year, skip the added fat and flip your chip. Choose a lighter version of your favorite chips, try popchips™ a new chip that is neither baked nor fried, but popped into existence, there are so many flavors to chose from that none of your guests will even miss the traditional potato chips.

http://www.popchips.com/


3. Raise the veggies!
Vegetables are a great source of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Not only are they healthul and delicious, but they are the perfect side to have at every barbeque because they fill you up without as many calories as other sides such as potato and cheesy macaroni salads. If you’re invited to a barbeque this weekend and can’t show up empty-handed try this cabbage slaw, it’s got lots of healthful fiber and a gorgeous color to boot! This delightfully light, summer salad is very satisfying due to the “creamy” dressing. The peanut butter does kick in some calories so don’t sit down and eat the whole bowl, share with friends.

Red Cabbage Slaw with Peanut Dressing
• 6 cups shredded red cabbage
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion
• 1 small clove garlic
• 1/4 cup cubed fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1/3 cup smooth natural peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3-7 tablespoons of water
Shred cabbage with a knife, cutting it very thin. Shred carrots and slice green onions. Place all veggies in a big bowl. Peel and rinse garlic. Use a garlic press or finely chop garlic. Add to food processor. Wash and coarsely chop fresh ginger into chunks/cubes. Don’t peel it. Add to food processor. Food process until ginger is finely chopped. Add sugar, peanut butter, and vinegar to food processor. Process until mixed. Gradually add water to food processor until dressing is desired consistency (I use about 5 tablespoons of water). Food processing should whip the dressing into a creamy texture. Pour/scrape dressing onto salad. Toss. Serve immediately or put in fridge for later (it will stay crispy for at least three days). Makes about 7 cups. One cup of this red cabbage salad has 116 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, and 4 grams of protein.

Source: http://chetroy.com/healthyvegan/?p=168

4. Provide your guests with refreshment, not a gut.
Summertime drinks, while tasty, can supply a huge chunk of your daily calorie intake. Considering that a 12 ounce margarita has over 560 calories and a 12 ounce pina colada has over 650 calories and more than 6 grams of saturated fat (a Big Mac has 10g of saturated fat), these drinks are more on par with decadent dessert than a drink with dinner or lunch. At this year’s barbeque be sure to provide your guests with plenty of nonalcoholic drink choices: seltzer water, 100% fruit juices and cold herbal teas. And if alcohol must be on the menu, provide lower calorie options like light beer and wine spritzers.


5. Get Fruity- Fruit is the perfect summer dessert…
If it’s available. It’s amazing how fast fruit salad gets gobbled up at a barbeque, but sadly it is often forgotten. Making a fruit salad is simple even if you’re pressed for time. Cut up a watermelon, pineapple and wash a bunch of grapes- this will be the base of your salad. Next, go to any salad bar with a fruit section. Here you will be able to put together a colorful salad with all the fruits that can be more time consuming to chop up like cherries and kiwifruit. Having this sweet treat will is a great alternative to ice cream and other high fat desserts that often show up at Fourth of July celebrations.