Workplace Wellness Makes Economic Sense

As a clinical nutritionist I believe good nutrition is the key to good health. Simply put, the food we eat is the fuel for our body. However, eating healthy is certainly not without its challenges, especially with all of the food choices that are available. We are constantly bombarded with messages that tell us to eat this, not that and quite frankly, it is very confusing for most people. What we think may be healthy or all natural may actually be loaded with unhealthy fats, chemicals, preservatives, artificial colors and flavorings that wreak havoc in us and make us sick. In addition, convenience foods are often touted as being cheaper than healthy foods as well as being quick and easy. Manufactured foods are intentionally engineered to be addicting. The food industry is a business with profit as the bottom line, not concern for your health.

Unfortunately, eating unhealthy can lead to many diseases such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, cancer, liver disease, digestive disorders, metabolic disorders, hormonal disorders and infertility, birth defects, migraines and allergies, as well as behavioral problems and learning disabilities. And this is just the short list! Many of these diseases are at or are reaching epidemic levels and continue to rise. We are a nation that is overfed yet we are more malnourished, sicker and have higher rates of chronic disease than most other countries.

As an example, heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States with 650,000 annual deaths despite all of the advances we have made in medicine. Estimated health care costs in 2009 were over $475 billion but this figure does not take into account the costs in terms of human suffering. In his Lifestyle Heart Study, Dr. Dean Ornish demonstrated the reversal of established heart disease with lifestyle changes and in fact, nearly 80 percent of all heart disease is indeed preventable with lifestyle.

In addition we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that affects not just adults but our children as well. Two thirds of all adults are either overweight or obese and more than 23 million children and teenagers are overweight. Following the obesity epidemic will be the epidemic of diabetes. Today, nearly 24 million children and adults have the disease and nearly 6 million people are unaware that they may have it. Another 57 million people have elevated blood glucose levels and are considered to have pre-diabetes. In just the

last decade alone, the number of new cases of diabetes has increased by 90 percent and it is now estimated that one in three Americans born in the year 2000 or after will develop the disease in their lifetime. The good news is that type 2 diabetes is nearly 100 percent preventable; however, if this epidemic is not halted, it will surely cripple our economy financially and will impact your business as well.

Just as we are what we eat, likewise, we are what we think. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), stress is America’s number one health problem. Not only that but it has been implicated as a contributing factor in most chronic diseases. In fact, 75 to 90 percent of all doctor’s visits are for stress related ailments and complaints. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared stress a hazard of the workplace and in 2010 it cost American industry more than $300 billion.

Since people spend approximately one third of their life at their place of employment, instituting workplace wellness programs makes a lot of sense. Historically, corporate wellness has been characteristically underused but is now a concept whose time has come. Workplace wellness programs not only reduce companies' healthcare spending through better employee health but also improve employee retention and overall morale.

The number of companies getting involved in workplace wellness is growing, driven by the rising costs they face in providing healthcare coverage for their employees. Additionally, healthcare reform expands coverage for preventive services which gives companies incentives to offer some kind of healthcare screenings.

Businesses typically save about three dollars in healthcare costs and absenteeism for every one dollar they put into such programs, noted several speakers at the European Society of Cardiology's EuroPrevent meeting. Furthermore, studies consistently show workplace wellness programs to be cost effective although the magnitude of savings varies. A review of 32 studies suggested that corporate wellness programs reduced healthcare claims by 27.8 percent, physician visits by 16.5 percent, hospital admissions by 62.5 percent, disability costs by 34.4 percent, and incidence of injury by 24.8 percent. In addition, indirect benefits included improved employee retention and morale.

More than 75 percent of employees' healthcare costs are related to lifestyle choices. The lowest cost interventions such as health education and screening, offer the highest return on investment. Cardiovascular disease, and the risk factors that contribute to it including smoking and a sedentary lifestyle, is the number one target of workplace wellness programs as it remains the number one cause of death.

Therapeutic lifestyle changes including dietary modification, physical activity, weight loss if needed, and stress reduction are all necessary components to good health. As a clinical nutritionist it is my mission and my passion to teach people about good nutrition and how to weed through the nonsense, and achieve better health through nutrition. For a listing of the lectures, programs, groups, and screenings I offer, please click on the Workplace Wellness link.