Kevin Eberly's Blog | Confronting America's Obesity Epidemic

Employers working to better the health of their company faced a recent setback. On April 30 the IRS ruled that most wellness programs cannot be included in minimum healthcare coverage, meaning requiring employees to participate in company-sponsored health programs won’t be as simple as previously thought.

Under the Affordable Care Act, employers are required to offer a minimum benefits coverage for full-time employees, which includes a healthcare package, or pay a steep fine if they choose to forgo providing coverage. The only wellness program that will qualify for the minimum benefits package is smoking cessation programs.

The IRS cited the potential for many wellness programs to be discriminatory, putting sick workers at a disadvantage for lower premiums, as the reason for excluding wellness programs from the minimum benefits package.

It’s an unfortunate ruling considering more than two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese, which, like smoking, is a condition that needs to managed over time and is costing employers thousands of dollars per year.

Managing obesity requires a strong support system, and organized wellness programs provide that. It takes time, dedication, and motivation, which, especially when in the form of cash, can be very effective.

Although I am disappointed with the ruling, it does not mean wellness has no place in the office.

It’s worth the investment to provide wellness programs to your employees—financially and for the success of your company—even if it means just taking a few minutes out of the day to walk around the office and assess the overall health of your workers.

Interact with your employees. Listen to their concerns. Maybe an at-risk individual is scared to make a change in his or her habits. It’s understandable; change isn’t easy. However, listening to your employees can help you determine a wellness program that will attract the most participation. For example, if the majority of your employees say they don’t have the time for wellness, you can consider making a wellness program convenient, potentially making it a part of the workday to encourage higher participation.

Make it a fun part of your company’s culture. Studies show financial incentives encourage healthy behaviors. Consider a little friendly corporate wellness competition. Have employees agree to sign up for a wellness program and offer small rewards at the end of each week for a certain period of time. It can even be as small as $10 gift cards, but the camaraderie and support from the workplace will motivate a larger number of people to participate. The employee that loses the highest percentage of body fat, for example, will receive a larger financial reward.

Educate your employees. An AP-NORC Center survey of 1,011 adults nationwide found about half of people think their weight is healthy despite statistics that show two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Consider hosting health seminars as part of on-the-job training and have a wellness program accessible to begin immediately following a lecture. If employees don’t realize they need to make a change, they won’t. You have to bring the issue to the forefront of your employees’ minds.

A patient’s experience starts the moment he or she steps foot in the office. It starts with the greeting from the assistant at the front desk, followed by the amount of paperwork to fill out, followed by the interaction with the nurse, and then, finally, the doctor.

It’s often a long process, not exactly a patient’s idea of fun, and a physician’s communication skills play an important role in whether a patient is willing to be receptive of the information provided. Today, the physician’s role goes beyond writing a prescription and sending a patient on the way.

America’s obesity crisis is affecting workers’ productivity and overall health of the nation, and physicians have a say in prevention, which starts a ripple effect. Prevention means fewer people are obese, fewer people driving up healthcare costs, fewer employees taking sick days. So, you can see why communication skills play a critical role.

You may not be able to teach empathy, but specific care models can set patients up for success. The Center for Medical Weight Loss, for example, focuses on a team atmosphere, one where the physician provides support and gets to know the patient on a deeper level, where the doctor really understands the underlying causes of unhealthy habits. It’s a personalized experience where each treatment plan is different. The model allows doctors to form a unique bond with each patient who steps through the door.

The more welcoming the office, the more likely a patient will be open to suggested treatment. Our healthcare system puts physicians in a powerful position. It puts physicians in the primary prevention role, and like all diseases, the sooner the problem is detected, the easier it is to treat.

By taking advantage of this role, we can significantly lower healthcare costs in this country. One overweight employee can add $1,500 in health costs per year, and with two-thirds of Americans overweight, the costs add up quickly.  Part of the solution to these startling costs is the evolution of the physician role to a more patient-centered approach, one where weight loss becomes a team effort. 

Everything is at our fingertips. With a touch to our smartphones we can have food delivered to our door in minutes, get the latest updates on our favorite sports teams, read a book, and surf the Internet without leaving the couch.

On one hand it sounds like the perfect setup for a sedentary lifestyle, but on another hand, technology can help us reach our fitness and weight loss goals. And according to a study conducted at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University, the workplace environment combined with technology is a successful strategy.

The study found workplace programs that include behavioral counseling coupled with supportive emails are effective in managing weight long term. During the study, program participants received professional counseling during their lunch hour, which focused on strategies for menu planning, managing hunger, portion control, and ways to deal with emotional eating. They also received email support from their counselor.

After six months, results showed that employees who participated in the program significantly reduced their risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Researchers believe the camaraderie of the work environment contributed to the positive outcomes. It became a part of the culture, sort of a ripple effect.  

While in-person behavioral counseling, like the one conducted in the study above and counseling provided by physicians at The Center for Medical Weight Loss, has proven to be the most effective weight loss strategy, telephone and email counseling have also proven popular in our fast-paced world. 

If companies cannot afford to bring in a physician to the office to provide behavioral counseling, a program set up over the telephone or through email comes in a close second, considering we have email at our fingertips. In a six-month study that included counseling over the phone and email, dieters lost, on average, 8 percent of their body weight. Those who received in-person counseling lost 9 percent, on average.

When technology is used correctly, it can combine convenience with results, and the best results include behavioral counseling. Ninety-five percent of self-help diet attempts usually fail, and unfortunately, 83 percent of diet attempts are self-help.

But we are in a situation where now, more than ever with the development of technology, the workplace can make a difference and focus on providing effective wellness programs that include behavioral counseling in some way, shape, or form. 

We spend the majority of our time at the office, and it is where we likely adopt healthy or unhealthy behaviors. The statistics speak for themselves, and these easy-to-implement wellness strategies can make a big difference in the overall health of America.