Many companies have chosen to initiate wellness programs to help manage their rising health care costs. Employers realize that much of these costs are related to poor lifestyle choices that lead to catastrophic conditions such as heart ailments, early-onset diabetes and lung cancer. In fact, federal data shows lifestyle and personal behavior choices contribute to 70 percent of deaths.
If employers want to help ensure the health and well-being of employees and end this cycle of rising costs, they need to start targeting our next generation’s workforce now. If we can succeed in making our children healthy, we can create a healthier workforce for tomorrow.
Many companies believe the responsibility of encouraging children to be healthy lies with parents and schools. A quick look at the statistics shows everyone needs to get involved. Today, one in five children in the Metropolitan Milwaukee area is considered overweight. Nationally, the obesity rate of adolescents tripled during the last 30 years.
"Research shows that obese children are at an increased risk for becoming obese adults," said Dr. Joey Skelton, program director of NEW Kids (Nutrition, Exercise and Weight Management) at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "Obesity in children and adults can lead to type II diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe asthma and many more ailments. We can help create future generations of healthy adults by taking better care of our children today."
There are several options for companies to get involved.
- Companies with wellness programs can start by expanding their initiatives into employees’ homes. Consider adding child-focused materials, such as an educational coloring book or activity to the information you send home with your employees. Children can be our biggest advocates. Once you get them on board, they will likely encourage their parents to choose healthy behaviors as well.
- Educate your employees on the importance of physical activity for their children. Encourage them to turn the TV off for at least an hour and start moving. Also, educate them on the need to set good examples themselves.
- Think of your company events as an opportunity to set a good example. Resist the urge to overload food tables with chips, cakes and sugary beverages. Create a fun, healthy menu with non-fatty items and colorful foods. A veggie pizza-making table with a nutritionist to explain the importance of the toppings could make learning fun. Also, include a variety of games and sports to get the employees and their children active.
- If you participate in Bring Your Child to Work Day, make a presentation about why your company cares about the health of its workers and their families. Share these numbers: cardiovascular diseases cost the United States more than $300 billion each year and obesity costs as much as $117 billion a year. Educate your employees about how much your organization spends on health care each year and how this has increased over time.
- When you are looking to sponsor community programs, consider those that focus on healthy behaviors. Are there special fitness classes or athletic teams for children at a local community center that your company could sponsor? As part of your sponsorship, you could send healthy snacks or bring in a nutrition expert to talk about appropriate portions or good food choices.
- Consider sponsoring in-class curriculum to teach children how to make smart choices related to food, drugs and smoking. For instance, National Insurance Services Inc. partnered with Children’s Health Education Center in February to lower the costs school districts pay for www.BlueKids.org e-learning programs. These programs use interactive models to promote safer, healthier behaviors among students in grades K-8. The sponsorship cut the cost by almost 50 percent and will bring online health education to more than 12,000 students this year.
Children’s Health Education Center’s goal is to help our children become healthier. Our educational programming decreases the likelihood that children will experiment with drugs, smoke or engage in other unsafe behaviors. If we can get them excited about being healthy now, we can sustain those behaviors. And, when they enter the workforce, companies can get back to business.
Theresa Reagan is executive director of Children’s Health Education Center, a member of Children’s Hospital and Health System. For additional information about healthy habits, see www.BlueKids.org. To order CHEC’s free Parenting Works newsletter for your employees, e-mail chec@chw.org.
