Healthy Weight

Researchers: Stress Linked to Body Weight Issues

You can create a healthier work environment that supports weight management and overall health improvement – to counter chronic stress and sedentary lifestyles.

Despite a $40 billion weight loss industry, it is clear that present attempts to stem the obesity epidemic aren’t working. General wellness programs have become central to the broad goal of reducing health care costs for employers. Yet, programs specifically designed for weight management are often too narrowly focused on weight loss as the only goal rather than improvement in overall health and lifestyle choices.

Establishing a healthy work environment is an effective way to engage employees in health awareness, but in order to give your employees the best chance for success, your healthy worksite initiatives should be paired with a comprehensive cognitive behavioral program that will support and supplement the healthy behaviors you are encouraging among your employees, and teach them the best practices and skills needed to achieve and maintain lifelong health. Unfortunately most weight loss plans do not address underlying cognitive issues—the unhelpful, habitual thought patterns that can sabotage even the best plans for behavior change. Employers can benefit from offering a solution that addresses the root psychological and behavioral challenges facing people who are trying to lose weight and provide The Oxygen Plan as a strategy for both the individual and workplace level for creating an environment that promotes healthy lifestyles.