Corporations Take a “Hands On” Approach to Employee Weight Loss

Many individuals are engaging in increased efforts to lose weight and better their health, but now weight loss is being seen as a group effort as companies take an aggressive personalized approach to encouraging weight loss to their staff.

You may wonder why employers care so much about the weight of their employees.

Obesity, which is a growing health concern in the U.S., costs companies more than $73 billion a year according to researchers from Duke University, and a large percentage of employees at large companies are obese. In fact, biometric screenings of employees at one particular large company looked at in the study determined that 85% of their employees were overweight and obese.

Companies are taking drastic measures in an effort to lower these statistics and reduce weight related health costs and sick days. Some efforts include offering employees wearable fitness trackers and competitions on social apps, covering the cost of weight loss surgery and certain drugs, and providing mental health counseling to combat emotions that underlie eating issues.

Twenty four employees were enrolled in a year-long pilot program that included exercise classes, nutrition coaching and emotional counseling all of which took place during paid hours. Employees in the program lost a total of 15 pounds by the end of the year, which prompted the company to offer the program in other locations which yielded similar results. Managers realized that the most essential component of the program was the mental health counseling, in which employees were able to discuss their emotions, challenges and weight loss obstacles.

This discovery shows that weight loss isn’t always about calories in, calories out. For people who are chronically overweight and obese and cannot seem to keep the weight off, despite diet and exercise, getting down to the root of the problem is essential for weight loss and weight maintenance. It was reported that the major problem with tackling weight loss in an office setting is that weight is a touchy subject for many people and companies have to be careful not to discriminate, embarrass or target certain people. According to an October survey from the Northeast Business Group on Health, approximately 71% of employees said that the biggest hurdle to an effective corporate weight loss program is overcoming stigma and embarrassment.

This is a major reason why mental health counseling is such an important piece of the weight loss puzzle. People tend to discount the thoughts and emotions that are so strongly related to eating and it seems as if companies are now on board with tackling this problem to help their employees attain better health. There are currently about one third of all employers offering weight loss programs to their employees, with an additional 7% planning to offer these programs within the next 12 months. The idea that companies are encouraging their employees to come together and unite for the overall goal of better health is a wonderful nationwide movement towards better health!

Your turn to take action: What are your thoughts on companies getting involved in the weight loss of their employees?