Reality TV, What can I say about it? Over the last ten years reality TV has taken the world by storm. With this storm it has brought about reality TV shows about weight loss and healthy lifestyles. As fitness professional I find myself often watching these shows. There are many benefits I get from these such as ideas on how to motivate my clients and new fitness trends. On the other hand, I often find myself scratching my head wondering why they just did that. (more…)
by Kendra Dickey, Otterbein Exercise Physiology Intern
Thank goodness it’s August and the kids are headed back to school! As a working parent, you can now breathe a sigh of relief. No more daytime babysitters, swimming lessons and basketball camps!
As the hustle and bustle of summer finally dies down, now would be a great opportunity to focus on your overall health.
Did you know? Chronic diseases affect more than one third of working-age Americans and raise healthcare costs. Addressing risk factors early can really make a difference.
For example, $5.6 billion in heart disease costs could be saved if one-tenth of Americans began a regular walking program.
Work site wellness programs are essential for making America a healthier nation.
I encourage 
you to take full advantage of any wellness programs available at your workplace. Most employee wellness programs offer health screenings and nutrition education classes. Most are free to employees and often spouses are included as well.
If you purchase your lunch often, get in the habit of packing your lunch at least three days per week. People tend to consume less calories and save money when they pack their lunch. Include items such as light yogurt, cold-cut vegetables with hummus or dip, fresh fruit and whole grain bread. Keep snacks such as dried fruit or nuts in your desk drawer for those days when you need an extra boost. When making a quick stop at the vending machine, healthy options include baked chips, whole wheat crackers and nuts. Choose water as your primary beverage.
Set aside time before or after work to utilize the fitness facilities at your workplace. Or you could start a walking club with other co-workers during your lunch break. You can even purchase a pedometer and track your steps with an ultimate goal of 10,000 steps per day. Use the stairs instead of the elevator and rack up some exercise points. People burn more calories while standing up than sitting down. A couple times throughout the work day, stand up from your desk and walk around. Your mind will appreciate the mental break and your body will appreciate the movement!
Remember, eating healthy and staying active is a choice that is totally up to you. Even as a busy, working parent, it is extremely important to make time for nutrition and exercise in your everyday life. And if you make the choice to be healthy, your children are bound to follow in your footsteps.
Summer is winding down and soon we will be preparing our kids to head back to school. So this is a great time to remind family and friends to catch up on their vaccinations. August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Vaccinations are not just for babies and young kids. We need to promote immunizations to our friends, family and coworkers across a full life span. Vaccines safeguard children and adults from illnesses and death caused by infectious diseases.
There are many benefits to getting vaccinated. Before vaccines the only way to become immune to a disease was to get it and survive it. If we get vaccinated we train our immune systems to resist the disease. This is a win-win for families, employers and communities because it is much cheaper to prevent a disease than to treat it. According to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, in a 2005 study on the economic impact of routine childhood immunization in the United States, researchers estimated that for every dollar spent, the vaccination program saved more than $5 in direct costs and approximately $11 in additional costs to society.
One of the most common immunizations we are all encouraged to get every year is the flu shot. Offering flu shots for your employees is one of the easiest ways to offer worksite wellness and will also have a positive impact on a company’s bottom line due to fewer absences from work. Everyone aged 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine according to the CDC. Vaccines not only protect ourselves but those around us by decreasing or even eliminating the chance state of being contagious.
Vaccines offer safe and effective protection against infectious diseases. We should all lead by example and stay up to date on recommended vaccines. We can all work together towards the common goal of preventing diseases. Take time to schedule yourself and your family to get the annual flu shot. You can spend time having fun instead of fighting the flu!
Beach bag packed? Check. Sun block packed? Check. Hiking gear packed. Check. Are you counting down the days till peace and relaxation? It is summer and that means vacation season is in full swing. Whether you are going camping, to the mountains or soaking up the sun vacations may bring more than a nice tan and fun memories.
Most of us expect to come back from vacation fully rested and recharged. Some of us do, but for most it is just the opposite. We return home being stressed and more tired than before we left. According to a new Gallup survey 54% or respondents reported they returned from vacation feeling tired, including 19% who said they returned feeling either “very tired” or exhausted.
It seems that these days’ people have increased stress and pressures at work so they work harder and stay longer in the office leading up to their vacation. Since we are spending more time in the office that causes us to pack the night before or wake up early to pack the day you plan to leave. So before your vacation even starts you are already sleep deprived and stressed.
Traffic jams and long security lines also add to our stress load. Even when you reach your destination it seems that other obstacles come along. Most of us want to see all and do all while we are visiting our vacation spot. Even though it seems fun planning your daily “must-do” list it can add stress trying to make everyone in the family happy and trying to fit it all in. With that said, most vacationers tend to stay up later than normal and get up early to make sure they see all their favorite spots.
So, if you are getting ready to leave for vacation or if you are already planning for next year’s get-a-way, follow these tips for a stress free vacation.
The best piece of advice is to stay flexible. Even with having everything planned, plans fall through. So roll with the punches and enjoy unscheduled time. Those are the memories we remember most.
by Erin Weber, OSU Dietetic Intern
Can you identify a family member, friend or peer who uses tobacco on a regular basis? I am going to bet that you can name at least one person. Tobacco use is an epidemic that is killing nearly 6 million people each year. Do you want to know the scarier part? Of those deaths, 5 million are users and ex-users and more than 600,000 are nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke. Even if you have made a personal choice to avoid tobacco use, the above statistic is enough to show you how important it is to raise awareness on the dangers of tobacco for not only their health, but your own.
So I’m sure you are wondering what’s with all the tobacco talk? May 31st marks World No Tobacco Day! The World Health Organization (WHO) selected “The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control” as the theme for this year’s World No Tobacco Day. This theme’s guidelines provide the foundation for countries to manage and implement tobacco control. These guidelines can be found at http://www.who.int/fctc/guidelines/en/. Our society still has so much to learn about tobacco and its detrimental effects on our health. Unfortunately, many do not actively participate in this initiative until they or someone they know has been a victim of tobacco’s negative effects.
The dangers of tobacco use go far beyond what most think. In fact, 63% of all deaths are caused by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) with tobacco use being the second greatest risk factor after high blood pressure. Stroke, heart disease, asthma and cancer are NCDs that tobacco use can lead to, just to name a few.
So now you are wondering (or we hope you are wondering) about what you can do to make a positive impact on this epidemic. Making small efforts such as informing friends and family about the potential dangers to not only themselves, but also others is an easy way to do your part. Joining local and/or national initiatives or even doing information sessions at local schools would be effective for educating children so when they are faced with a challenge on whether or not to use tobacco, they can weigh the pros and cons and make an educated decision on their own. Make it a point to raise awareness to family, friends or even an acquaintance in need. If we can get everyone to do one small thing, think of the progress we would make as an entire nation! Support World No Tobacco Day and make an impact on someone today!
by Amy Meredith Dietetic Intern, The Ohio State University
If you took a tour around your office, how many candy jars, leftover desserts, and snacks would you find out in the open for anyone to nibble on? Most offices use food as a way to show appreciation and increase morale within the work place without knowing that this behavior can be extremely destructive to employee’s diets and health. A recent article from The Wall Street Journal titled, “The Battle of the Office Candy Jar,” showed how eating a few candies from the jar each day packs on the pounds over time, and can ruin the push for wellness in your company.
According to the article, if an employee grabs 2 pieces of candy from the jar each day, that can easily add up to 1,920 extra calories every four weeks! Within a year that equals 24,960 calories or about 7 pounds of expected weight gain. These numbers oppose all of the efforts and campaigns for wellness and health within the workplace. Although shocking and seemingly impossible to combat, there are different methods you can encourage to remove the jars and the calories.
The easiest way to remove the pounds and the calories gained from each piece of candy is to completely remove the source. Encourage employees to bring healthier options to work to keep the temptation at a minimum. Instead of bringing doughnuts to the next meeting bring a vegetable or fruit platter. This method can help increase the variety of color in everyone’s diets and keep the calories low.
If not everyone is on board with completely removing candy from the work environment, ask people to keep it out of sight. Each time you are exposed to the temptation your willpower decreases until eventually you grab for that one piece of candy. This can often lead to a second and so on. Also, the type and placement of the candy jar used affects an employee’s candy consumption. According to The Wall Street Journal article, people consumed 2.5 more pieces of candy when in it was held in a clear jar rather than an opaque jar. Then, when the candy jar was in reach of someone, that individual consumed an additional 2.1 pieces of candy. So, to minimize the caloric damage, encourage employees that keep candy at their desks to use an opaque candy jars and keep them out of arm’s reach.
Most people are unaware of how much damage a couple pieces of candy each day can do to their diet. Awareness is the first step to getting employees to make simple changes in their lives to become healthier. By removing one source of sabotage and temptation from the workplace, everyone is one step closer to that overall goal.
Reference:
Shellenbarger, Sue. “The Battle of the Office Candy Jar.” The Wall Street Journal 12 April 2011: D1+. Print.
Mexican Adventure Part 3… There were four of us ordering lunch that day. Order # 1 “I always get the tortilla salad.” We discussed what was on the salad and it sounded pretty good—chicken, corn, cilantro, cheese (depends how much…remember how many calories are in ½ cup?). Her biggest concern was that the chicken tasted like it was cooked in oil. I encouraged her to find out how it is prepared. If it is cooked in oil there may be options the server can recommend. However, she was hesitant to change her favorite meal…
Order #2 “I love Chimichangas”. Well, that’s a difficult one… Chimichangas are Chimichangas because they are fried. Fried is almost always more calories than you expect! So we went back to my research from Calorie King. A Beef Chimichanga (without eating the sides) is 1310 calories with 98 g fat (31 g saturated fat) YIKES! What about chicken? Well it’s better: 1099 calories and 42 g fat (20 g saturated fat). “I will never order that again!” I say, never say never… you can split it with someone or save ½ for another meal. (For the chicken Chimichanga, this would be acceptable but still a bit high for calories and fat.) We decide to look at a different menu option. We decide on cheese quesadilla, depending on how it is prepared. A cheese quesadilla is closer to 490 calories and 28 g fat, much better.
Order #3 “I like fajitas”. In my research fajitas varied quite a bit 450 calories to 851 calories (both chicken and both without the sides). We look to the lunch menu and decide to order from that since portions tend to be smaller. Also, asking questions when we ordered.
My order, since I had done all this research I decided ahead of time I would stick to one of my favorites a tostada. I actually prefer flour tortillas but I do like the corn tortilla in tostadas or hard tacos. They actually didn’t have a tostada lunch meal so I simply ordered the chicken tostada as a side. Even on its own a tostada is 360 calories, 21 g fat. With my chips and salsa that is actually about a typical amount of food that I eat for lunch if I pack my own.
I’m so proud of my lunch mates! They all asked questions (even about the chicken in the salad) and we learned that in this restaurant the chicken is not cooked in oil but grilled with the skin on. The lunch fajitas did not come with a tortilla which was fine for us! We saved ~100 calories there. And my Chimichanga gal really liked the quesadilla which was not cooked in oil at all.
I think we all learned a lot and had a delicious Mexican meal, all healthier than what we normally would have ordered! ¡¡Viva Las Margarita’s!!
Las Margaritas, Lewis Center, OH: Home of our Mexican Adventure
Mexican Adventure Part 2… Las Margarita’s here we come! I want to thank the employees at Las Margarita’s for helping to answer all of our questions and still serve us a fabulous meal with modifications!
I arrived first and a little early to the restaurant. I had barely sat down when there were 2 baskets of chips and salsa placed on the table. I ordered water and asked for plates. Here’s my take on beverages in a restaurant: #1 I don’t like to waste my calories on empty calories such as pop. I prefer to eat them! #2 Have you seen recently how much a pop or even iced tea costs? So I look at it this way I’m saving my waist and my wallet…
Why did I order the plates? This is a little trick I learned at home. When I want to eat something but control how much I always put it on its own plate or bowl. So we know from last time that a single serving of chips is only 140 calories vs. 430 calories for the whole basket. Also keep in mind that all baskets are not the same size, this one looked particularly big!
Basket of Chips = approximately 430 calories
One other challenge is “what does 1oz look like?” From experience I know this depends on the size of the chips. So we decided these chips were pretty big and estimated ~8 chips = 1 oz. Before you judge take a look at my plate of 8 chips… I do love to eat the chips and salsa while I wait for my dinner, so this way I can eat it, enjoy it and control it.
One serving of chips = about 140 calories
As everyone arrived we discussed just these issues and then started to talk about what we normally order.
Look for Part 3 and the conclusion of our Mexican Adventure!
Three years ago, as a registered dietitian and certified personal trainer, I would not have guessed that my full time job would revolve around work-site wellness programs. I also would not have guessed how rewarding it is!
When it comes to work-site wellness programs employers want to know: “What will a wellness program do for my business?” The Return on Investment (ROI) data is coming in:
“A 2002 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study noted that companies with physical activity programs for employees have reduced health care costs by 20 percent to 55 percent, reduced short-term sick leave by up to 32 percent and increased productivity by up to 52 percent.”
http://www.health.state.ny.us/prevention/worksite/
“According to an article published on Business Insurance April 27, 2009: Poor health among U.S. workers costs employers much more than many realize in reduced productivity, according to a multi-year study of 10 employers and more than 150,000 workers.
The study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that presenteeism–when employees are present at their jobs but unable to perform at full capacity–creates a greater drain on company productivity than employee absence, a finding that may come as a surprise to many employers, researchers say.
For every dollar spent on medical costs and pharmaceuticals, there is $2.30 of health-related productivity losses due to absenteeism and presenteeism, according to the study. For certain conditions, such as anxiety, employers lose as much as $20 in productivityfor every dollar they spend on medical care and pharmaceuticals.
The study, which researchers said is one of the largest to date on the subject, found that when medical and prescription drug costs are considered alone, the top five conditions driving employer health care costs are cancer, back/neck pain, coronary heart disease, chronic pain and high cholesterol.”
http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20090426/ISSUE01/100027532
These cost-savings are achieved when a culture of wellness and a focus on preventive care for employees (not sick care) is emphasized. Successful worksite wellness programs understand this and use this to drive their wellness initiatives.
Whether you are just starting to implement wellness initiatives at your worksite or you have had them in place for some time now, consider conducting a needs assessment survey. The results can help you achieve maximum ROI by guiding your decisions for wellness programming.
What a difference a few years has made. A lot has changed in the field of worksite wellness since three years ago, and I have no doubt the trend is going to continue. Now is the time to drive your efforts forward.
If you are like most workers you work a nine to five type of job. That is at least 40% of your waking hours at the worksite. Since you invest so much time in your career, wouldn’t it be great if some of that time not only benefited your employer, but also your health?
Before we understand how important it is to create a heart-healthy workplace, we need to face the facts. Heart disease, stroke, heart rhythm disorders, peripheral artery disease, heart failure, and others are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. The American Heart Association estimates that up to 30% of medical costs paid by businesses each year are spent on employees with risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as cigarette smoking, excess weight, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Let’s take a closer look at home:
Creating a heart-healthy workplace will not only help the company’s return on investment but wellness programs will help the employees get healthy and stay healthy. A heart-healthy program does not need to be complex or expensive. Here are some tips for employers to start a healthy work environment.
There is not a one-size-fits-all approach but the efforts should focus on: smoking cessation, increasing physical activity, reducing stress, healthy eating, weight management, and education. There are many ways to incorporate a heart-healthy work environment and many models to follow. If your company doesn’t have a program, create one that fits your needs. The Rite Bite can help!
 |
 |
 |
 |
