The Newest Ally Against Obesity – Your Apartment Building?!

It’s true. There is an apartment building in the Bronx designed, specifically to combat obesity. This brand new, 8-story building with 63 units, known as The Melody, offers a gym with floor to ceiling sunlight, a backyard with brightly colored exercise equipment for adults and children, and flights of stairs with bright green railings surrounded by artwork and jazz playing in the stairwells. Note that there's no music in the elevators. :)  The developer made these design choices with a specific focus on exercise and health. By making the stairs and outside areas more inviting, residents may forgo the elevator and take the stairs... a simple, healthy way to increase daily activity. If residents still need a reminder to take the stairs, a sign next to the elevator reads: 

“A person’s health can be judged by which they take two of at a time, pills or stairs.”

Wondering when apartments like this will make it to the Boston area? Not clear but, the New York City departments of Design and Construction, and its partners, released a 135-page guide called Active Design Guidelines, on the construction of buildings that would encourage exercise and mobility. Builders do not receive tax credits or compensation for following the guidelines outlined, but doing so can earn them points in a rating system administered by the United States Green Building Council called LEED, for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The Melody opens its doors to residents this summer, and more than 40 units have already been sold. Obviously, it is not the apartment building alone that will make for healthier residents. We have to make healthier lifestyle choices, but surrounding ourselves with a supportive environment can certainly hep! How do you make your home or community a healthy environment? Comment here or leave me a message a Facebook!

Are You Gaining Weight at Work? First we blamed the candy dish, now it's your chair!

There is a new culprit in the obesity epidemic, and it’s not fast food or soda – it’s the workplace. There is no doubt that the workforce has changed in the past 40 years, but email and the Internet are not the only drastic changes.  In the 1960’s more than 50% of jobs required physical activity. Today, less than 20% of American jobs require physical activity, if any at all. We know that less activity out (caloric expenditure) , does not always equal fewer calories in (caloric intake). In fact, the drastic change in workplace activity translates to an estimated 120-140 calories not burned throughout the day.   That is close to 700 calories a week, 2800 a month and over 33,000 calories a year!

Think about it. How many times do you send an email, rather than walk down the hall to deliver a message? When is the last time you had a lunch meeting that involved walking, not eating? Statistics show that 1 in 3 Americans is obese. Lifestyle, diet and genetics are all major factors, but we have to start considering our workplace lifestyle as well. Your employer may not be ready to outfit the office with standing work stations or treadmill-like desks (I'm personally not convinced they are necessary), but there are changes we can make throughout the day to be more active and burn more calories. Simply put, going to the gym an hour a day after work is just not enough activity anymore. Not when you consider how much time we spend driving, emailing, or eating instead of walking. 

Some other tips to get you moving....
- WALK down the hall to a colleague to deliver a personal message instead of texting
- MBWA - Manage by walking around -- set up a walking meeting instead of a sitting one
- Plan to walk for 10 minutes after lunch
- Map out an indoor or outdoor walking path to use before or after work if you have the extra time
- Limit your own screen time to under 2 hours a day or make some of those minutes active by including sit-ups, push-ups, stretches or yoga
- Walk on the weekends at a local park or pretty street(s) in your area with a friend or family member
- Find free exercise programs on your cable's exercise channel
- Borrow a free exercise DVD from the library
- I am sure you can think of 100 additional ways!

At Wellness Workdays, we offer 8-week, 10-week and 12-week Wellness Challenges to our clients. They are team based programs focusing on lifestyle interventions and incentives. Rewards are provided for those who achieve as well as for those who strive for specific lifestyle behaviors. All programs include online tracking, weekly tips, regular wellness activities, incentives for participation, and pre/post surveys. The programs have documented an ROI of 3.8:1, that's $3.80 spent for every $1 spent. If you are interested in having a wellness challenge at your workplace, post me a message! I would also love to hear your ideas of how you fit your workouts in on work days.