According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obese employees incur 42 percent costlier medical expenses than their healthy weight counterparts do. Overweight and obese employees also can lead to higher absenteeism and lower productivity. When you combine these statistics with the fact that you want your staff to be happy and healthy, a workplace weight-loss program makes good sense.
Step 1
Poll staff members to find out how many are interested in joining a weight-loss program at work. Inquire about days and times that they each are available. Schedule weekly weight-loss program meetings at the best possible time and location for all who want to be involved.
Step 2
Offer information for several meal-plan ideas and exercise options. Consider that employees might have special dietary needs or restrictions. For example, someone might be vegetarian, have food allergies or require kosher foods. Offer exercise suggestions for all physical levels and limitations, as well.
Step 3
Appoint a trusted staff member to oversee and record weekly weigh-ins. Assure employees that this information will remain strictly confidential. File identifying weight-loss program information where other confidential employee files are kept or in another secure location.
Step 4
Support employees in the weight-loss program all week long. For example, the CDC recommends stocking vending machines with at least a few healthful options. Provide fresh fruit or granola bars alongside doughnuts at a breakfast meeting. Offer safe bicycle parking and on-site showers to encourage physical activity.
Step 5
Offer rewards and incentives for weight-loss program participants who stick with the plan and reach specific goals. The "Journal of the American Medical Association" reports on three trial weight-loss groups: one with monthly weigh-ins alone; one with a lottery incentive in which participants who lost weight won money and those who didn't lose weight lost money; and one in which participants invested their own money, which was matched if they lost weight. Of the three groups, the investment group lost a mean of 14 pounds, and the lottery group lost a mean of 13.1 pounds. The weigh-in only group lost a mean of 3.9 pounds.
Member Comments