Making a Case for Wellness
Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body—it
is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. - John F. Kennedy
Our wellness foundation - nutrition and activity.
At OnSite Wellness we believe that proper nutrition and activity make up the foundation
of good health. We recognize that there are many other factors that affect health.
Nutrition and activity are the building blocks of our comprehensive wellness programs
because they are controllable by individuals through their lifestyle. By focusing
on these fundamentals, we are working with employees to help them improve their
health and control their disease - keeping healthy employees healthy.
An integrated program
To fully impact your employees’ health, it is necessary to partner with the other
areas within your organization that also affect health. We will work with programs,
such as your occupational health, safety, and benefits, to make sure that our wellness
services complement and coordinate with the company’s total health care strategy.
It’s proven that wellness make cents
What better way to maintain the strength and vitality of a company than to invest
in its human capital. Healthy, happy employees are more productive, both physically
and mentally. The results? More products are produced and more ideas are generated.
While there are many studies supporting the return on investment and/or cost avoidance
of health promotion programs, let’s take a quick look at one health concern that
can be impacted by an employer-sponsored wellness program—overweight and obesity.
It is a known fact that overweight or obese adults have a greater risk for developing
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many types of cancers. It is also known that
in most cases weight can be controlled with proper nutrition and exercise.
More than half of Americans are either overweight or obese. Moreover, the prevalence
of overweight and obesity has increased by 12 percent and 70 percent, respectively,
over the past decade.¹ A recent study of privately insured companies showed:
- 44.8 percent of the population is within normal ranges (body mass index 18.5-24.9)
- 26.2 percent of the population is overweight (body mass index 25-29.9)
- 17.0 percent of the population is obese (body mass index of 30 or more)²
Putting this in monetary terms, another study showed that overweight individuals
annual medical costs increased by $120 or 4% for each 1 point increase in BMI over
25. Higher BMI’s were related to increased health costs in 11 of 18 disease categories,
with the greatest costs linked to musculoskeletal and circulatory diseases.³
By encouraging employees and families to be active and eat healthy, companies cannot
only impact the health of their overweight population, but can also curb the trend
of those in the normal range from becoming overweight—keeping their healthy people
healthy.