don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Let me have men about me that are fat, Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights: Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Julius Cæsar. Act I. Sc. 2.

The Bard's perspective on fat folks is a bit out of fashion. Last week, I discussed the obesity epidemic in one essay and summarized initiatives by schools to deal with it in another. Today's essay highlights innovations at the corporate level as employers across the nation attempt to assist employees with weight problems. Alas, even the innovators focus more on the symptoms than the underlying problem -- the inability or unwillingness by most to do what is necessary to sustain healthy lifestyles. Let's look at the innovations first, after which I'll offer a few tips I think would render such corporate efforts more effective.

According to data released on June 18, 2003 by the Wall Street Journal, obesity costs American companies $12 billion annually. The $12 billion cost estimate includes medical care, lowered productivity, absenteeism, higher health and disability insurance premiums and the costs of refitting office doors so that doublewide workers can pass in and out. As a result of this awareness, some of the biggest employers (Ford Motor, Honeywell, General Mills and PepsiCo, for examples) are coordinating efforts to reduce the problem.

Among the modest changes being made to help obese employees, somewhat similar to the initiatives described in the earlier essay about school lunchroom reforms, are posting nutritional information in company cafeterias, lower fat/sugar menu choices, encouraging workers to take the stairs and distributing literature about the risks of obesity. A few companies even partner with local communities to build running and hiking trails, parks and the like. Such actions are, of course, too little and essentially inconsequential. Company managers who sponsor isolated, one-shot awareness efforts do not appreciate the gravity of the obstacles that obese employees face. Efforts to make healthier lifestyle choices without systematic culture changes at home and at work rarely become habitual. Required instead are daily positive supports that make the heroic quest for wellness both fun and engaging over time.

Which states would you guess have the most obese employees, the same workers who run up the highest health care costs? Not all companies track such things, but one spokesperson quoted in the WSJ article on corporate obesity identified Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas as the three "heaviest" burdens on the organization's bottom line. Go Vols! Go Rebels! Go Razorbacks!

For maximum effectiveness, I think managers trying to deal with employee obesity problems might want to keep the following in mind:

• Obesity is a symptom of a lifestyle poorly managed. The focus of corporate programs should be on lifestyle initiatives of a positive nature, not the problem of fat employees, or other undesired characteristics. Better to focus on a positive campaign promoting wellness lifestyles that make everyday life more enjoyable, and also happen to reduce serious problem issues, such as obesity.
• Obesity does not occur in isolation. Many, if not most, obese employees also use tobacco, drink too much and exercise too little if at all. Obese employees no doubt suffer from a host of problems besides being fat, including diabetes, hypertension, back pain and so on. That's another reason to think of obesity as a symptom of the problem, not THE problem costing companies $12 billion annually. If anything costs $12 billion annually, it's the ABSENCE of wellness at the worksite.
• Wellness programs sponsored by employers must be made available for family members as well as employees, since few workers will be able to sustain lifestyle changes without environmental changes in the home supported by all family members. In addition, employers might want to reach out to retired employees as well, in order that they are afforded opportunities to learn about and make healthful changes. Such changes will positively affect not only the life situation of former workers but, as well, the costs of the benefits provided by their former employers.

That's my take on the matter. What do you think?

Be well and try to look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MEANING DOMAIN under the skill area of relationships. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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