Employer Benefits - Improve employee health and improve your bottom line

 Statistics show that 83% of employees have a poor diet, 65% are overweight or obese and 67% exercise little or none at all. As a result, you, the employer, are suffering from a number of “indirect” cost increases resulting from low employee productivity and escalating absenteeism that impacts your company’s overall performance.

 The bottom line - your bottom line is suffering.

 Additionally, unhealthy lifestyles contribute to 90% of diabetes and 80% of heart disease, conditions that contribute to significant escalations in medical expenses. Health care costs are continually on the rise - from 13% to 20% a year – and employers are absorbing that “direct” expense increase. Corporate Wellness Programs also give your staff a healthy work-life balance, which further reduces a significant number of health related issues.

 Incorporating a Health & Productivity Management Strategy into your company’s Strategic Plan puts value back into human capital, delivers a measurable return on investment, and ultimately saves lives.

Health and Productivity Management (HPM) has become a primary initiative in corporate culture today. Companies involved in HPM programs see investments in human capital as an opportunity, not as the cost of doing business. Each employee is an asset to that company and corporations are realizing that an investment in their employees is now a bottom line issue.

When combining corporate services such as health and fitness intervention, employee benefits, safety, and disability companies can cut health care costs and change the culture of their corporation for improved productivity.

         At 8 a.m. on November 7, Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes, also called Walk on the Wild Side, will take place at the Jacksonville Zoo. The walk, sponsored by the American Diabetes Association, will attract about 2,000 walkers on 200 teams.

According to Step-Out coordinator Amanda Intravaia, the fundraising goal for this year is $350,000. That money helps fund research, programs and awareness for diabetes. This year’s walk will also recognize and honor walkers who have diabetes. The Red Striders will have a special edition red hat and will celebrate the day at a party tent sponsored by Pfizer.

            Intravaia, who is 24-years-old, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age four. “It is inspirational to me to see so many people coming together to fight something that I’ve lived with for twenty years,” she says.

Channel 4 weather man Richard Nunn is this year’s walk chair. Nunn’s passion for supporting the American Diabetes Association stems from his own family’s health challenges. “Some of them have succumbed to diabetes and some of them live with it on a daily basis,” he says. “The statistics are alarming that every few seconds someone is diagnosed with diabetes and every few minutes someone dies from the disease. I want to help find a way to pass diabetes.”

In 1970, a pack of cigarettes cost $1.70. Today, the price is nearly $5 a pack. To date, 24 states have passed laws prohibiting smoking in public places. And as tobacco and its effects on the body receive more study, research shows nicotine’s toxins impact many of the body’s interrelated biological systems beyond the lungs and heart.

The growing financial cost, public and workplace restrictions and overwhelming medical research on the dangers of smoking are driving the number of smokers down in all categories – from 43 percent of the population in 1965 to 19.8 percent in 2007 (about 26 million men and 20 million women smoke today). Among the nation’s teenagers, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that smoking is down from 28.3 percent in 1991 to 19.8 percent in 2007.

But for those remaining 40 million people nationwide, smoking remains a tough habit to break. That’s why a number of associations, medical practices and businesses offer counseling and support groups to help tobacco users kick the habit – and they have a plethora of prescription medications at their disposal to help users overcome their physical and psychological dependence.

 Slide into a booth at any diner and you’re likely to find a colorful bouquet of artificial sweetener packets adorning the back edge of the table. Most of us have grown so accustomed to the familiar pink, blue and yellow squares that we hardly give them a second glance. According to the Calorie Control Council, an international association representing the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry, 194 million adult Americans consume low-calorie/sugar free foods and beverages.

From the sage advice of Mary Poppins, “just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” to the popular teen phrase, “sweet,” most of us associate sweetness with goodness. In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture reports that the average American consumes 20 teaspoons of sugar per day, more than double the recommended amount. For diabetics, dieters and others looking to decrease their sugar intake, artificial sweeteners are a welcome alternative.

Sally Clifton, MSH, RD, LD/N, Clinical Dietitian at Shands Jacksonville and President of the Jacksonville Dietetic Association, agrees sweeteners are a wonderful way to satisfy cravings without raising blood sugar. She believes they are beneficial to a diabetic diet if used correctly.  “Moderation is really the key. By eating small amounts throughout the day and sticking with recommended serving sizes, these products can be incorporated into a balanced diet.”