Businesses Help Workers to Lose Weight

Republican Presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee answers questions during an interview in the AP Washington bureau in an April 23, 2007, file photo. Huckabee, who created a wellness program for state employees in Arkansas after losing more 100 lbs., was in Chicago, Thursday, June 28, 2007, to speak to health and wellness leaders at the start of a two-day conference on workplace weight management. Companies are enlisting the help of a growing niche industry of wellness advisers who provide everything from corporate gyms, to medical risk screenings at work and healthy grocery lists that can be downloaded on an iPod. (AP Photo/J. David Ake) (J. David Ake - AP)

That's fueling the rapid growth of the niche industry of wellness advisers who provide everything from corporate gyms to medical risk screenings at work and healthy grocery lists that can be downloaded on an iPod.

At a workplace weight management conference in Chicago on Thursday, nearly 100 people _ including Huckabee _ debated the most effective ways to promote healthy living for employees, while helping them maintain their new lifestyle.

"What we don't have in the weight control business now is a program of maintenance," said Rebecca Reeves, an obesity researcher and associated professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. "There's recidivism, and it does return."

As the field grows, businesses looking for help can find a dizzying array of methods to help employees, and very little research to back up which provide the best method.

CALL ME: Developed years ago, the tried-and-true method of telephone counseling and educational brochures continues to be an effective way to help workers manage health care. Got a question about your blood pressure? Dial a nurse. Trying to keep your diabetes in check? Counselors will call you. These companies can get permission to mine insurance claims data and do everything from remind you to take your medicine to offer over-the-phone counseling.

FEEL THE BURN: On-site gyms and fitness centers can be more than an 80s-era stationary bike stashed in a corner. Wellness companies today will design, build and manage a corporate gym. Personal trainers take note of medical histories while classes help the out-of-shape get active. Plus, the gyms can be a recruitment tool for wooing potential employees.

"Just having a facility shows the employees that the company cares about their well-being," said Brenda Loube, president of Montgomery Village, Md.-based Corporate Fitness Works Inc., which operates such facilities for dozens of companies across the country.

SAY 'AHHHH': Health risk assessments do just that: study employees' medical status to find out if they're at risk for chronic conditions. Corporations usually provide prizes and sometimes even cash to employees who undergo diagnostics and commit to getting healthy. The screenings can include cholesterol checks, blood pressure screenings and weigh-ins. More detailed versions can include bone density checks and skin cancer screenings.

"Everyone now agrees that today's lower- and moderate-risk person is going to be tomorrow's higher-risk person," said Andrea Lazar, president and chief executive of Phoenix-based Kronos Optimal Health Co. "So much of health care costs are determined by the lifestyle choices we make."

DIGITAL DISHES: Wellness companies offer mountains of information on their Web sites, from quizzes and tips to online coaching and counseling. Some even go as far as to offer customized exercise plans and recipes, along with grocery lists that can be downloaded on an iPod for easy reference.

"Some people will read the program, and change their lifestyle, some will come back on a daily basis," said Ted Dacko, chief executive of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based HealthMedia Inc., which provides services such as online counseling for more than 30 million people. "We're trying to fundamentally deal with the issues that'll change your behavior."