How to Encourage Your Staff to Become Healthy

In what ways can an overweight staff affect your company?

If you are the owner of a company and you are wondering why your staff members aren’t living up to their full potential, maybe it is time to try to motivate them in a different way.

Obesity can affect an employee, and therefore the workplace, in a variety of ways. Due to physical issues like sleep apnea, heart conditions, arthritis and diabetes, an obese employee takes longer breaks and more time off of work. This translates into lost productivity and lost profits for you.

How do you encourage your staff to stay healthy?

First and foremost, if you are hoping to encourage your staff to get in shape, you cannot isolate or single any one person out. It is important to encourage the company as a whole, or else you may lose a valuable member of your team. Employers can do a few things to encourage good eating habits and exercise behavior. If you are close with your coworkers, consider inviting them to a gym. For example, you could say something like, “I am hoping to get myself in shape, would anyone like to join me tonight when I go to Fitness 19?” Even if you don’t get a good response the first time you ask, don’t be afraid to keep asking and encouraging them to get in shape alongside you.

It may also be a good idea to schedule a meeting to talk about the subject of health. In this meeting, you can promote health and set a weight loss or health goal for your company to achieve. When your company achieves this goal, you can provide some sort of incentive, which may encourage them to accomplish it! It is also a good idea to provide a special reward to the person that loses the most weight. This will enable your staff members to work harder to receive the special reward.

You can also encourage your employees to take their lunch breaks outside. The fresh air and sun can energize them to finish out the rest of their shift, and the walking will benefit them also. If none of these things work, you can try bringing in healthy and delicious snacks for your coworkers to eat. Another incentive you can provide is a discounted membership at a gym for your employees. Often times, the cost of a gym membership can be daunting to people. However, when a discount is applied, people are more willing to try it out.

Who is at risk to becoming overweight or obese?

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reports that more than two-thirds of all adults in the America are overweight or obese.  This is caused by an energy imbalance where more calories are consumed than the body can burn.

Many factors can lead to this energy imbalance and thus, weight gain. Examples of these risk factors include biological genes, how and where people live, attitudes, eating habits and emotions, income and general life habits.

How does obesity affect the entire body system?

Being overweight or obese can increase the blood pressure in a person. It is very important for an individual to keep their blood pressure down because an increased blood pressure is the leading cause of strokes. Being overweight also increases the risk for a person to develop high cholesterol, high blood sugar and heart disease. All of these things can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, fatty liver disease, kidney disease and pregnancy problems.

Can obesity be reversed?

The important thing to remember is that obesity can be reversed through exercise and diet. However, the downside of waiting so long is that many people develop serious health problems before it prompts the change for them to decide to fix it on their own. The negative side effects from obesity can last a lifetime if not taken seriously. The goal should always be to prevent obesity; however, if a person becomes overweight, it is important to start major life changes to correct it as fast as possible.

If you want to see major changes in the workplace then it would be beneficial to begin implementing some of these wellness initiatives. It is important to become knowledgeable about the risks and side effects of obesity so that you can teach your staff members. Once you become aware of these health risks, it will be much easier to talk about getting healthy as a team with confidence.