Teamwork, incentives help employees battle the bulge
Employers get creative to improve workers' health
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) realized several years ago that better health wasn't enough of an incentive to get the kind of success it hoped to see from its at-work weight loss program. So the company added another element to the program — cash.
BCBSM, like other employers that have added incentives to their weight loss programs, has seen the team approach and allure of incentives pay off for its 10-week "Dump Your Plump" program. A recent group of 530 participants lost more than 3,600 pounds in 10 weeks, and the winning teams shared a $2,500 purse.
Incentives some employers are using to encourage employees' weight loss success are seriously tempting — cash bonuses, paid days off, and fully funded vacations.
The payoffs, they say, don't just go to the employees who successfully lose weight. Burdened by soaring health costs, employers realize savings when their work force loses weight and the medical problems that accompany being overweight.
Long-term results from a variety of weight loss programs suggest that losing weight as a team effort, rather than individually, pays off for many participants in work-based weight loss programs.
Obesity costs American companies $56 billion in lost productivity caused by disability, illness, and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As more employers look at ways to improve their employees' health through weight loss and improved fitness, the programs proving to have the best long-term success are those built around teamwork.
The peer pressure and camaraderie of workplace weight loss initiatives can be major motivators, says Karen MacKay, RN, of BCBSM's employee health center.
According to MacKay, the cash prize is only one reason for the Blue Cross Blue Shield program's success. The other is the team approach — participants form teams of four to 10 people. Teams meet each week, and pledge to do two things: modify their eating by adopting a healthier diet and exercise 30 minutes each day.
Each week, the teams weigh in, compare notes, encourage each other, and are scored on their adherence to the diet and exercise pledge. The team with the highest score that has also met its weight loss goal wins the contest, dividing up the monetary prize that is funded by registration fees.
The program is integrated throughout the company, with walking paths incorporated on the grounds and dietary help from the cafeteria.
Other companies use different approaches to employee weight loss; some provide fitness plans tailored to individual employees, while some set up wellness programs that address a variety of conditions or habits that negatively affect health.
According to recent findings released by Northwestern University, middle-aged people who are overweight but have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels are mistaken if they think their health is fine.
Northwestern University researchers tracked 17,643 patients for three decades and found that being overweight in midlife substantially increased the risk of dying of heart disease later in life, even in people who began the study with healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
High blood pressure and cholesterol are strong risk factors for heart disease. Both are common in people who are overweight, and often are thought to explain why overweight people are more prone to heart disease. But there is a growing body of science suggesting that excess weight alone is an independent risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes.
The Northwestern study contrasts with a controversial government study published in 2004 that suggested excess weight might not be as deadly as previously thought.
"The take-home message would be pay more attention to your weight even if you don't have an unhealthy risk factor profile yet," according to lead author Lijing Yan, a researcher at Northwestern and Peking University.
MacKay says the BCBSM Dump Your Plump program encourages employees to get physician clearance before participating in the program, which was developed by a physician. The program handbook explains the theory behind making a lifestyle change, the benefits of a team approach, and offers the encouraging statistic that weight loss undertaken by an individual alone has a one in 200 chance of long-term success, while weight loss using the team approach has a one in two chance of success.
"You don't want to let your team down," says MacKay. Each participant creates a plan describing his or her approach to losing weight, and files the plan with the team leader. They follow the plan, and in the five years BCBSM has been doing the program, 80%-90% of participants have successfully completed it, she says.
"We have a lot of repeaters; it's not always permanent [weight loss]," says MacKay. "Our motto is 'Don't be afraid to try.' It's a continual effort, and people shouldn't be dissuaded."
(For more information, contact:
Karen MacKay , RN, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Web site: www.bcbsm.com.
Lijing Yan, PhD, MPH, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. E-mail: [email protected].)
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) realized several years ago that better health wasn't enough of an incentive to get the kind of success it hoped to see from its at-work weight loss program.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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