Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Work-sponsored weight management programs offer weight losses for employees and gains for employers!

The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine published an article on: "Examination of health and economic outcomes, a lifestyle-based weight management program". It was delivered to employees by M. Courtney Hughes, M.S.,PhC.,Teresa M Girolami, M.D., Allen D. Cheadle Ph.D., and other in the November 2007 Journal. The researches studied 516 people who elected to participate in their Fortune 500 companies "weight management program" for either 2 or 52 weeks. Employees paid part of the program's cost and their employer picked up 70 - 80% of the tab. Weight loss interventions included fitness counseling, diet counseling and a physician oversight. Participants saw losses in body weight, body mass index, waist size and blood pressure. They increased exercise time by over 178 minutes per week. Tests for depression showed that positive mood increased.

Employers who hope to reduce the epidemic of obesity and its resultant chronic health conditions may want to consider sponsoring a wellness program or weight loss challenge for their own employees. Check out: http://www.ahrg.gov/ and http://www.joem.org/ for more information or http://www.blogger.com/365daysofwellness

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