Worksite health promotion, Dec. 2008

"Health is the greatest gift." - Buddha

Worksite Health Promotion

Vol. 2, Issue 2 December 2008

Healthy Holidays at Work

It is that time of year again. The time for holiday eats, baked goods, and other sweet treats. Most people, irrespective of culture or geographic location, celebrate the holidays with food and drink. Workplaces are no different. Every year, there are holiday parties, potlucks, and other occasions for eating. Let's not forget also the deluge of snacks that flood breakrooms and the heartier offering at the cafeteria.
Why Does This Matter? The see-saw attempts to lose weight and regain one's health become even more challenging during the holidays. The primary reason is that the inducement to eat unhealthier foods is greater. This is why many adults gain one to five pounds during the holidays, with most never losing that weight after the holidays. Pledge this year to help your employees have a healthy holiday-- even at work.
Healthy Office Treats Promote a healthier workplace, even during the holiday season. Make meetings healthier by offering
healthy snacks, water, and incorporating stretch breaks.

Adopt a "No Food Dumping Policy" so employees don't leave unhealthy foods in break rooms and other community areas at the office.
Change traditional holiday snacks to healthier ones: fruit bowls instead of candy dishes, yogurt parfaits instead of ice cream sundaes, whole-grain bagels instead of donuts.
The Holiday Party If your company is planning a holiday party, you can make it a healthy and fun occasion. Here are some ideas: Encourage employees to bring
healthy dishes. This way, they can eat things they know are healthy. Caterers and employees can modify traditional recipes to make them a little healthier. Go to http://www.fcs.uga.edu/ext/pubs/f dns/FDNS-E-63a.pdf. Make sure that healthy options are

available. This includes salads, lowfat and low-sodium dishes, and vegetarian entrees. Serve healthy appetizers like a vegetable platter. Instead of a cake wheel or desert table, consider a make-your-own parfait or fruit salad bar. Replace ice cream with frozen yogurt as a desert option. Use smaller plates and bowls so guests do not "over-serve" and overeat. Instead of a traditional sit-down-andeat restaurant, consider a food and game location for your holiday party.
Also consider incorporating fun games and activities into holiday parties. Not only will this build camaraderie, but it will also burn calories. Try any of the following: Candy cane relay race A classic game of musical chairs Conga line and other group dances.
Gift Ideas Whether for gift exchange, Secret Santa, or employee recognition, you can make the holidays a little healthier through gift-giving. Consider food items
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WELLNESS WATCH
Bombarded with solicitations and promises from wellness program vendors, many companies have faced challenges identifying what would work best for their employees and the company overall. There is now a solution: Comprehensive Wellness Accreditation. URAC has announced accreditation standards within five categories: assessment, interventions, evaluation, integration, measurement. These standards will cover various components of wellness programs, including health risk assessments, health coaching, education, and clinical and financial outcomes. Formerly known as the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission, URAC is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes healthcare quality through accreditation and certification.

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Healthy Holidays at Work
Cont'd from page 1

that are healthier, or items that can encourage physical activity, or reduce stress. Fruit basket Fruit preserves (the no or low sugar
variety) Spa basket with lotions and
aromatherapy candles Golf balls, tees, and gloves Fishing lures and lines, or map of
local fishing locations Gardening gloves, pruning sheers,
or gift card to local gardening store Fitness bands, yoga mats, exercise
balls Gift cards to sporting goods stores Membership to local gym
Maintain, Don't Gain One way to make the holiday season healthier for employees is to help them minimize weight gain. Maintain, Don't Gain is a challenge that provides tips and resources to employees to help them minimize weight gain during the holidays. For more information, go to http://www.fitcitychallenge.org/Chal lenge/november/.
Beyond the Holidays Many of us look forward to the holidays with great excitement and anticipation. We plan parties, drive around town shopping for gifts, and even spend hours decorating trees, halls, and offices.
Rarely do we ever think about our health life beyond the holidays. Those who do think about it ponder on what their New Year's resolutions should be--how many pounds they want to lose, what habits they want to quit, how they are going to improve their health.
Even before January arrives, consider what your company can do to help employees live healthier, more productive lives in the new year. Plan for and organize employee
walking groups. Offer tobacco cessation classes
onsite or refer employees to local tobacco cessation programs. Start a healthy employees bulletin to share information, announce activities, and even showcase

employees that are modeling healthy lifestyles Add healthy messages to payroll stubs; you can even feature a health observance Plan for and organize a health screening event for employees.
A Healthy Company Year-Round Did you ever wonder how to make your company a healthy company and not just a company that does healthy things--periodically? There are three areas to examine where you can make changes to set your whole company on a path to wellness. Company culture. Let employees
know that you are serious about their health. Small changes to institute a healthy culture include installing a water cooler, having walking meetings, and switching out candy dishes for fruit bowls. Policies. Examples of policies that can help guide healthy behavior for employees (and visitors) include tobacco-free policies, wellness break policies, and healthy vending policies. Environmental supports. Ways that your work environment can lend themselves to a healthier workforce include designated walking trail/path, installation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and salad bar in the cafeteria.
The holidays are a time to eat, spend time with others, and share. Endeavor to make your company holiday a healthy one this year.
Happy Holidays
Healthy New Year

Health Observances
December
World AIDS Day (December 1) Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS http://www.unaids.org/en/Partnerships/Adv ocacy+partners/WAC/default.asp
National Aplastic Anemia & MDS Awareness Week (Dec 1-7) Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation, Inc. http://www.aamds.org/
National Handwashing Week (Dec 7-13) Henry the Hand Foundation http://www.henrythehand.com/
January
Cervical Health Awareness Month National Cervical Cancer Coalition http://www.nccc-online.org/awareness.html
Glaucoma Awareness Month Prevent Blindness America http://preventblindness.org/news/observe.html
National Birth Defects Prevention Month March of Dimes http://www.marchofdimes.com/professional s/14332_1206.asp
Thyroid Awareness Month NBCAM Board of Sponsors www.thyroidawareness.com
National Dental Hygiene Month American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists http://www.thyroidawareness.com/
February
National Wear Red Day (February 6) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth
AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month Prevent Blindness America http://www.preventblindness.org/
American Heart Month American Heart Association http://www.americanheart.org/
National Cancer Prevention Month M.D. Anderson Cancer Center http://www.mdanderson.org/
National Children's Dental Health Month American Dental Association http://www.ada.org/goto/ncdhm
National Wise Health Consumer Month American Institute for Preventive Medicine www.healthylife.com
National Women's Healthy Heart Campaign Sister to Sister Foundation http://www.sistertosister.org/

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RESOURCE CORNER

OTHER GEORGIA PROGRAMS
Drugs Don't Work in Georgia Drugs Don't Work in Georgia is a federally-funded statewide drug-free workplace program. It is an affiliate program of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Georgia Division of Public Health, the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation, and local chambers of commerce.
Employers certified as having a drugfree workplace can receive a 7.5% discount on their workers' compensation premiums.
For more information, go to http://www.ddwga.org/ or call 404-223-2277.

RESOURCE MATERIALS
2008 Physical Activity Guidelines The US Department of Health and Human Services recently released its first physical activity guidelines. The new guidelines recommend at least 2 hours every week of moderate-intensity physical activity for adults. For more information, visit http://www.health.gov/PAGuidelines/
2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/g uidelines/default.aspx.
Be Active Your Way http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/a dultguide/default.aspx.
2008 Physical activity Guidelines for Americans Toolkit http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/to olkit.aspx.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Health Benefits Conference & Expo
February 3-4, 2009 Tampa, FL
http://www.hbce.com/index.html
IBI/NBCH 2009 Health & Productivity Forum
February 9-11, 2009 Los Angeles, CA
https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/De fault.aspx?eventid=603114
20th National Conference on Chronic Disease Prevention & Control February 23-25, 2009 National Harbor, MD. http://www.teampsa.com/chronic2009/main.asp
Ninth Population Health and Disease Management Colloquium
March 2-4, 2009 Philadelphia, PA
http://www.dmconferences.com/
Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference
March 16-19, 2009 San Francisco, CA
http://www.healthpromotionconference.org
Applied Ergonomics Conference & Expo 2009 March 23-26, 2009 Reno, NV http://www.iienet2.org/Ergo/Conference/de fault.aspx

Georgia's Worksite Health Initiative Georgia DHR Div. of Public Health www.health.state.ga.us/programs/w orksitehealth WorksiteHealth@dhr.state.ga.us

WORKSITE WELLNESS IN THE NEWS
Staff fitness is a weighty problem Financial Times, September 13, 2008 I Put In 5 Miles at the Office NY Times, September 18, 2008 Health insurance premium Holy Grail involves managing chronic conditions Financial Times, September 24, 2008 Survey: Workers' family health-care deductibles jump 29% USA Today, September 24, 2008 Employers face higher bills for health benefits Financial Times, October 1, 2008 How To Keep Morale High When Business Is Down Forbes, October 16, 2008 Most health workers skip flu shot USA Today, October 16, 2008 Fewer Americans Getting Health Insurance Via Work Forbes, October 17, 2008 Are You Paying Too Much For Health Insurance? Forbes, October 22, 2008 US employers offer and value wellness programs Reuters, October 22, 2008 Is Your Office Making You Sick? Forbes, October 27, 2008 Johnson & Johnson Buys Online Health Coach HealthMedia Reuters, October 29, 2008 Employees favor breastfeeding-friendly policies Reuters, October 31, 2008 How To Tackle Downturn-Related Depression Forbes, October 30, 2008 Flexible working must be respected Financial Times, November 1, 2008 Holiday Health-Plan Shopping Guide Forbes, November 6, 2008 What You'll Save By Quitting Smoking Forbes, November 12, 2008 Employers Offer Workers Fewer Health Care Plans NY Times, November 15, 2008 Gyms, spas stress value of fighting stress in hard times USA Today, November 16, 2008

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