Tuesday, July 15, 2008

10 tips to keep your employees alive and kicking!


Nutrition & Weight Management

1. Encourage employees to eat breakfast.
Eating breakfast can raise metabolism by as much as 10%.1 And, it can give your employees’ metabolism a jumpstart, giving them the energy needed to perform at their best in an often demanding workday.

2. Promote a healthy diet.
According to a recent Gallup poll, 54% of Americans admitted to weighing more than they should.2 It’s no secret, eating healthy these days is getting more and more difficult—and the rub is that employees know their eating habits are getting worse. How’s your company cafeteria?

3. Recommend physical activity.
Overweight and physical inactivity account for 300,000 premature deaths annually—second only to tobacco related deaths.3 There are a number of fun activities you can do to help promote physical activity in your workplace. Try initiating a stair climbing challenge in which employees use the stairs rather than taking elevators. This exercise can be especially effective if your office is located in a skyscraper!

4. Post BMI charts.
Overall, the direct costs of obesity and physical inactivity account for approximately 9.4% of the national health care expenditures in the U.S.4 Posting BMI charts can be a great way to initiate conversation on weight management with your employees. Weight management programs can help your employee’s live longer and healthier lives, and can save your organization serious money.

5. Make sure drinking water is available to your employees.
With more than 2 million soft drink vending machines in America 5 it’s no surprise that Americans consume 54.5 gallons of soft drinks annually. Providing an alternative to the soda pop machine is a great way to help employees reduce those extra calories from their diets.

6. Identify healthy eateries in close proximity to your workplace.
More than 54 billion meals will be eaten in restaurants and school and work cafeterias in 2001 7 —most of which aren’t even remotely healthy. Compile menus from local eateries and identify healthy items for employees to choose from. Talk about creativity, fortune 500 giant Union Pacific Railroad partnered with local restaurants to incorporate healthier food items on their menus—and UP employees took advantage.

7. Warn employees about fad dieting.
Americans spend $33 billion annually for weight loss products and services that offer quick fixes. Help employees identify those fraudulent diets by providing information or sponsoring a speaker who can address this issue. Some warning signs of fad diets include those that restrict food choices to one or two items, or ones that offer ridiculous results like, “lose 10 pounds over the weekend.” For other tips on recognizing fad diets, check out the American Heart Association’s website at www.americanheart.org/Health/Risk_Factors/Overweight/Fad_Die
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8. Inform employees of the high fat lunch.
In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion. The typical American now consumes three hamburgers and four orders of fries—every week!9 Suggest menus with healthy, yet tasty menu items. Less fat at lunch may also curb employees’ temptation to take that afternoon “desk nap.”

9. Suggest a multi-vitamin.
A recent study has suggested that vitamin C may help the body deal with stress more effectively. 10 Adding a multi- vitamin to your diet may also help employees receive the necessary vitamins and minerals needed to keep their bodies running well.

10. Provide cholesterol screenings.
Nineteen percent of Americans ages 20 to 74 have high cholesterol levels.11 According to Healthy People 2010, young adults should be checked every five years, while older adults—men over 45 and women over 55—should measure their cholesterol at least once a year. Providing this service for your employees can go a long way in preventing a number of serious medical complications.

Many more tips to come. Stay tuned!

R/R Contributor

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