Texas Employers and Obesity: What’s It Costing Your Employer?

Help Us Reach Your Employer and “Get Your Fit-On” at Your Workplace

Have you looked around your work environment lately? How many desks are offering up bowls of assorted temptation in the form of candy or baked goods? A couple of months ago I visited a friend of mine at her workplace. As she walked me to her cube, I was shocked at the number of desks I passed that had an offering of some kind of candy.

You see, it’s been awhile since I’ve been in a corporate environment and needless to say I was a little taken aback. So I did a little research and here’s a bit of what I found.

At least 50 percent of health care expenditures are lifestyle related and therefore are potentially preventable, according to Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, Director of the Institute for Health Policy at The University of Texas School of Public Health. The Texas Comptroller estimates that costs to Texas businesses due to adult obesity-related illnesses totaled more than $3.3 billion in 2005, and these costs are growing. Health care expenditures and decreased productivity at work (called “presenteeism”) accounted for most of these costs.

Businesses get hit the hardest because most Texas adults with private insurance (88.5 percent) receive coverage from their employers. And Texas businesses are likely hit harder than those in other states due to the higher prevalence of obesity in Texas. Sadly, if the current trends of obesity continue unchecked, by the year 2025, the Comptroller estimates that 48.6 percent of Texas adults will be obese and only 14.4 percent will be of normal weight.

Many Texas companies are shifting their health care focus from disease treatment to prevention, in an effort to reduce future health care costs for preventable diseases. The best programs offer financial incentives to employees, such as lower insurance deductibles or company-paid gym fees, as well as other programs designed to encourage employees to choose healthy lifestyles.

And that’s where we come in. SRF has developed a “Fast Start Corporate WellFit Program” that begins with a series of three educational seminars that teach the key components involved in making a shift to a healthier lifestyle. The reason it works so well is that it does not require instant, radical change from employees or the employer. We provide basic education and suggestions that an employee base can implement progressively in phases. This insures early and eager adoption and consistent compliance…the two secrets to success.
You can help us reach out to your workplace by providing a contact. Well, get in touch with the representative, show them our program, and hopefully be able to deliver some great information at your place of business. We can tailor our program to fit the needs of any size company.

Ultimately, of course, only individuals can change his or her lifestyle. But employers can promote wellness and provide workers with incentives, knowledge and opportunities to make healthy choices in life.

If your company representative would like more information about our program, have them visit:
www.ShanaRossFitness.com/exec

How Many Calories Will YOU Consume on Turkey Day?

Okay – I’m climbing up on my SOAP BOX for a moment. If I step on somebody’s toes, well, they needed to be stepped on. I’m about to go off on weight gain during the holidays.

WHY do people think that because it’s the holiday season, they have carte blanche to eat their way into a food coma? I don’t get it. I’m not trying to be smug – I truly don’t understand. I would love to know how to get through to others and try to help them see how that mind-set is completely self-destructive.

Here’s what I hear. “I just can’t win during the holidays. Everybody at work brings in cookies and cakes, and the food is just too tempting. I have to try it all. It just looks so yummy. It all tastes so good and everybody else is eating and I don’t want to feel left out.”

Huh? Left out? Left out of what – heart disease, type II diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure? Left out of having clothes that fit and don’t cut you in half because you’re carrying too much body fat? Just a few things to think about.

Here’s what I’ve discovered. When many people are having that moment of “Oh my God, I’ve got to eat some of that”, I’m usually having the opposite moment of “Oh my God, you’re really going to eat that?”

So here’s what I want to know -- when you walk by the holiday platters or candy bowls at work or at a party, what is your thought process? Are you the one thinking, “I’VE GOT TO HAVE THAT!”
If so, then I challenge you to stop a minute and ask yourself why you feel you’ve got to have “it” and what reason is good enough to allow the indulgence. Because “everyone else is eating” or “because I know it is going to taste so good”, are not valid reasons. Am I suggesting not indulging at all? No. Just not through the whole season. Last time I checked, actual holidays are observed on a DAY, not a week or over a span of months. Go to parties and catch up with friends. But don’t hang out at the table and nibble for a couple of hours.
There are many emotions tied into this time of year. But please, don’t let food be your drug of choice. Think about what you’re doing. You’re not depriving yourself, you’re living up to the promise you made to live a healthier, more energetic life.

Eat sensibly and use the examples below to help guide you in your choices this season. Just because “it’s” there, doesn’t mean you’re obligated to eat “it.”

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Shana Ross Fitness is a private fitness training studio located in the Houston Heights. Focus on nutrition and exercise as the way to transform your health. Specialize in programs for baby boomers and menopausal women.

Please visit our website: www.ShanaRossFitness.com

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