According to Tangerine Wellness, it may not be an employer's responsibility to help employees trim their weight but with the number of diseases and medical problems related to obesity numbering about 53 and 2/3 of the U.S. population being overweight, it couldn't hurt to help your employees better manage their weight. The cost of employee health benefits and absenteeism may be reduced if your employees focus on better nutrition and increase their activity levels.
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Get Your Report Now! "Most single-sourced nutrition and diet plans often found at companies don't do enough to continually reinforce a healthier lifestyle," said Aaron Day, chairman of Tangerine Wellness. "Weight loss is not just about eating less and exercising more, it's about changing behavior."
Implementing a formal weight loss and physical activity program is the best solution to assist your employees in becoming healthier and to slow your healthcare benefit cost increases, according to Tangerine Wellness.
Weight Management Tips
The company provides some simple tips that you can share with your employees:
- Do a "walk about." Park your car far from the main entrance of the building where you work. If you take the bus or subway, get off one or two stops early and walk the rest of the way to work. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go for a walk at lunchtime or find a place to have lunch that includes a brisk, long walk from your office to get there.
- Beware of diet sabotage. Grabbing a few candies or cookies on your way past someone's desk and eating them adds up to many extra calories that you don't need.
- Soda blast. Researchers from Harvard found that cutting soda consumption by a can each day can add up to losing more than 1 pound per month!
- Stand to speak. Just by standing up when you're talking on the telephone can help you burn more than 50 extra calories a day. If you can add pacing back and forth while you talk, you will burn even more calories.
- Don't Go for Bloat. Just because you can buy a meal instead of a sandwich and receive a great discount on French fries and/or your soda, doesn't mean that you should do it. It just adds unnecessary calories to your lunch. Overeating at lunch can also make you bloated, lethargic, and gassy--not the best situation when you've got an important meeting to attend or a big project to complete.
For more information on Tangerine Wellness' programs, visit www.tangerinewellness.com.