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Spring into Fitness: Eight Ways to Help Your Employees
Get Fit, Healthy, and Grateful This Spring
Corporate wellness expert Tom Gilliam says getting involved in your employees' Spring Fitness Fever can help you build goodwill,
boost productivity . . . and save money on healthcare costs.

Hudson, OH (March 2007)-- As the days get longer (and warmer!) and swimsuit season looms, many people are beginning to think about the same thing--getting in shape. Those frigid temperatures that served as the perfect excuse to skip that evening jog have thawed, making exercise seem a little more enticing. (Notice the walkers popping up like daffodils in America's parks.) If you own or manage a company, Thomas B. Gilliam, Ph.D., says you should leverage this natural "Spring Fitness Fever" and use it to help your employees get fit and healthy . . . which, in turn, benefits you financially.

"Not only will helping your employees lose weight keep your health insurance costs under control, it will show them you care about them and their personal goals," says Gilliam, coauthor (along with Jane Neill, R.D., L.D.) of Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.: Achieve a Healthier Workplace One Employee at a Time! (T. Gilliam & Associates, LLC, 2005, ISBN: 0-9762703-0-7, $19.95) . " By helping them achieve their fitness goals, you become part of a larger solution for your employees. At that point, you're giving them a lot more than a paycheck. You're pushing them toward self-mastery and personal fulfillment--and that's a recipe for increased gratitude and better work performance. "

Gilliam--whose customizable Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy. ® corporate wellness program provides tools and techniques for helping employees slim down and stay that way--has a nearly inexhaustible supply of statistics on obesity and how much it is costing employers:

• In a recent analysis of the Industrial Physical Capability Services, Inc. database, 38 percent of the new hire applicants were obese in 2006 compared to just 29 percent in 2000. This represents a 36 percent increase in the obese population. If this trend continues, one in two new hire applicants applying to industries in the United States will be obese by 2010.

• The number of "normal weight" employees decreased from 33 percent in 2000 to just 24 percent in 2006. But what is more surprising is that the younger worker is getting fatter faster compared to the older worker. The economical impact of this finding is devastating. Companies will be paying claims for obesity-related diseases for longer periods of time.

• Add to these changes an approximate 80 percent increase in healthcare costs. A company with just 500 employees will spend nearly $1 million more in added healthcare costs in 2010 compared with 2005. Imagine if your company employs 50,000 people: the added costs would approach $200 million in 2010.

Weight loss may not be your area of expertise, but don't worry. Gilliam has all of the bases covered. Here are a few suggestions on how you can help your employees' spring training efforts be a great success:

· Create some fun outdoor fitness time. As the weather gets warmer, your employees will be looking for excuses to get outside. Take advantage of that need by sponsoring outdoor fitness activities. Start a company softball team, have a field day where departments compete against each other in different events, or host a family fitness day at a local park. Encouraging your employees to participate in outdoor activities together will not only help them achieve their fitness goals, it will also help build a sense of team unity within your organization.

· Foster and encourage exercise groups. Human beings are social creatures. They are much more likely to sustain an exercise program if they have company. Hire an aerobics instructor to come in several times a week--during pre- or post-work hours--to lead everyone in a vigorous outdoor workout. Start a lunch-hour walking group. Not only will your employees be more motivated to go if everyone is doing it, but the fresh air and sunshine will do them good as well. Another idea is to put a treadmill, stair-step machine, and weight bench in a vacant room so that employees can have their own "gym." (Just ask everyone to sign a waiver so you're legally covered in case of injury.)

· Get your employees excited about good nutrition. Create a "recipe" bulletin board--the old-fashioned "cork board" kind or the virtual online kind--so that employees can share the details of their delicious finds and their own culinary creations. Host a picnic lunch to which everyone brings his or her favorite healthful, spring-inspired dish. Or ask employees to take turns bringing in fresh fruits, veggie trays, or other low fat snacks for people to munch on during break. Don't forget to remove all "junk food" from the premises. It's hard to stay on track when vending machines packed with grease and sugar and trans fatty acids beckon with their sinister glow.

· If you implement a structured wellness program, be inclusive. Don't single out obese people. Choose a wellness program that emphasizes the benefits of lifestyle change--whose principles center on healthful, nutritious foods and regular exercise--and everyone will benefit. "Fitness" and "thinness" are not always synonymous. "There are plenty of thin people who eat junk food and never, ever exercise," notes Gilliam. "Programs like Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy. will help them get fit, too. And even if you have employees who are already doing everything right, the program helps them keep up the good work and maintain their healthy body weight."

· Make employee fitness a family affair. Most people care about their children's personal health even more than their own. That's why Gilliam's Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy. program has a strong child-centric component--including cartoon characters with names like Heart "E" Heart, Sticky Lipid, and Thundering Triglyceride. In the spring there are all kinds of great ways to get the whole family involved. Bring in experts to talk about childhood obesity or host company family outings that involve exercise like a hike, bike ride, or 5K run. "The benefits are two-fold," says Gilliam. "Your employees will appreciate your help in getting their families involved in getting fit, and it's likely that your insurance costs will decrease as your employees' dependents' healthcare costs can often be very expensive. So embrace the idea that your employees' families are part of the company family and help each member get fit this spring."

· Teach employees the basics of weight loss. Discourage your employees from buying into fad diets, fitness gadgets, and other get-thin-quick schemes. Some of your employees might be tempted by these methods, especially if their goal is to look great in a bathing suit before summer arrives. "I can't stress enough that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to consume a moderate, nutritious diet and exercise regularly," says Gilliam. "Educate your employees on the realities of weight loss. A book such as Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.: Achieve a Healthier Workplace One Employee at a Time! can serve as a solid foundation for your corporate effort."  

· Offer incentives. What those incentives are can vary wildly. You may want to offer gift certificates to a sporting goods store or other fitness-related store for employees who reach pre-determined milestones. Another idea is to offer discounted insurance premiums. Or you can make it a "team thing" and set up friendly competitions between departments; the team who collectively loses the most weight gets rewarded with, say, a frozen yogurt party or an afternoon off. "Even small incentives are powerful," says Gilliam. "Let's be honest: walking every day and forgoing your coffee and doughnut break can be a drag. People like working toward a concrete reward. Be creative. Make it fun."

· Be prepared for a long-term commitment. Achieving a healthy body weight takes time. Obesity and related diseases will be with us for many years to come. Obesity did not occur overnight. It has been happening for the last thirty years, and now it will take considerable time to resolve. Therefore, it's important that you stand by your employees every step of the way. "Just because spring is a great time to get fit doesn't mean your employees will stay excited about their new efforts," says Gilliam. "That's why it's important that you never let them lose sight of their goals and you keep them focused on the ultimate goal of a company filled with healthy employees."

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About the Authors:

Thomas B. Gilliam, Ph. D., is the founder and president of T. Gilliam & Associates, coauthor of the book Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.: Achieve a Healthier Workplace One Employee at a Time! , creator of the Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy. ® wellness program, designed to teach workers how to achieve a healthy body weight, creator of www.healthybodyweight.com and www.moveitloseitlivehealthy.com, and founder and owner of Industrial Physical Capability Services, Inc. (IPCS).

Since 1982, Dr. Gilliam has designed and managed many corporate fitness centers ranging from 500 square feet to 34,000 square feet. He has established a variety of wellness programs to deal with such health issues as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, physical inactivity, stress, osteoporosis, low back pain, and many more.

In addition, Dr. Gilliam is a pioneer and acknowledged expert in the field of dynamic strength testing for industry based on the sports medicine model. Since 1982, he has provided isokinetic physical capability assessments for Fortune 1000 companies through his company Industrial Physical Capability Services, Inc. (IPCS) ( www.ipcs-inc.com ).    Dr. Gilliam's programs have dramatically reduced workers' compensation costs and decreased injury incidence and severity rates for major industrial clients. In addition, Dr. Gilliam has been instrumental in identifying and presenting to industry the higher risk for injury and disease caused by obesity in the workplace.

Dr. Gilliam is the creator of the Heart "E" Heart program, which is a healthy lifestyle program for children and their families. He was the principal investigator in a National Institutes of Health research study investigating the impact of physical activity and nutritional habits on heart disease risk in young children. Conducted in the late 1970s, this research resulted in numerous scholarly publications and television and radio interviews throughout the world, including NBC's Today Show and NBC's Nightly News with its science editor, Robert Basel.

Jane C. Neill, R.D., L.D., is the 2004 recipient of the Nutritionist of the Year Award for the State of Alabama Public Health. She is an active member of the American Dietetic Association and currently employed by the Alabama Department of Public Health, where she works with the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program as a WIC coordinator and a licensed dietitian. She has worked in the WIC program for over ten years, providing daily nutrition counseling for women, infants, and children.

While on the staff as a registered dietitian at the University of Michigan Health System in the late 1970s, Jane was instrumental in working with Dr. Gilliam as an investigator on the National Institutes of Health research study to investigate the impact of physical activity and nutritional habits on heart disease risk in children ages six to eight years.

Ms. Neill is a member of the team that developed and wrote the Heart "E" Heart program for children and their families.

About the Book:

Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.: Achieve a Healthier Workplace One Employee at a Time! (T. Gilliam & Associates, LLC, 2005, ISBN: 0-9762703-0-7, $19.95) is available in bookstores nationwide and through all major online booksellers.

For more information, visit www.healthybodyweight.com or www.moveitloseitlivehealthy.com.