A new study has been released looking at the ways to increase your number of “disease-free years” as you age. The researchers analysed different combinations of lifestyle factors to see how they correlate with the number of disease-free years an individual has in their lifetime. What they found is that of 16 different lifestyle profiles studied, the 4 that were associated with the greatest disease-free years all included a body mass index (BMI) lower than 25 and at least 2 of these 3 factors: never smoking, regular physical activity and moderate alcohol consumption. The diseases that these factors help delay or ward off are type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and cancer. Needless to say, if you want to live a long and healthy life, making sure your own life fits into this profile is important. If you are an employer, you can promote this type of lifestyle to your employees in a number of different ways.

You can use your corporate wellness program to target these factors and help your employees increase their disease-free years. First, let’s look at lowering individuals’ BMI. Basically, this is done by losing unhealthy weight if their BMI is 25 or higher. While there are many fads to losing weight, science proves that the most effective way to lose weight and keep it off is through regular exercise and proper nutrition. 

Incorporating regular exercise can be as simple as having an activity challenge to get participants to think about physical activity daily. You can also host workout classes or sponsor gym memberships. Exercise will not only help lower employees’ BMI but also is one of the other factors on its own that helps increase the number of disease-free years. Get your employees moving, and check off 2 of the 4 important lifestyle factors!

To incorporate proper nutrition into your workplace, make sure that healthy meal and snack options are available. Instead of complimentary donuts for breakfast, try fresh fruit and yogurt. Instead of cake and ice cream to celebrate birthdays, opt for healthier treats. Also, providing some type of course on nutrition could be a great way to support your employees who are interested in nurturing better eating habits.

The last two factors to consider are: never smoking and moderate consumption of alcohol. While these are very personal decisions made by individuals, there still are a few things you can do to help your employees. The first piece is education. A wellbeing course that mentions the risks of smoking and alcohol and clearly directs individuals on what the proper amount of alcohol is, could be a smart idea to include in your wellbeing program. You could also think about how much alcohol makes up a part of your company culture. If lunchtime drinks and after work stops at the bar are big on your team, maybe try a company challenge where you go one week a month without drinks at work.

While you cannot control all of these factors for your employees, creating an environment where employees can make healthy decisions for themselves is important. Also, promoting these healthier lifestyle options can potentially save your employees from life-altering diseases.

Not sure where to start with your company’s wellness initiative? Follow this simple plan to start formulating some ideas and get the ball rolling!

Before you start any wellness program, it is important to figure out what your goals are. An easy way to do this is to survey your employees’ current wellness. In this survey keep it anonymous and try to keep it short and simple. You can ask questions about their exercise, eating, sleep and stress management habits. You may initially think you need a wellness program focused on physical health, but after surveying realize your employees are looking for more mental health and stress reduction resources.

After you get your survey responses you can create a plan with clearer goals in mind. What area of wellness do you want to focus on? Although effective wellness initiatives incorporate physical, mental and social elements to them, you should still keep in mind what areas your employees need the most help with. (Learn about the different types of wellness in our blog series here).

You should establish your concrete goals during this stage. Do you want a 10% decrease in self-reported employee stress levels? Do you want an increase in time spent on physical activities for your employees? Make sure your goals are clear, so you know what to measure at the end of the wellness initiative.

This is an important step that many companies skip when setting up their wellness program. A wellness committee helps keep the morale up and motivates their co-workers to take part in the wellness program. If you are a smaller business or startup, nominating one person to be the “wellness champion” is another option. This committee or person can also help determine how the program is laid out and implemented. Along with a committee, it’s helpful to have upper management on board with the wellness program.

Now it is time to define what elements you want to include in your program. Fitness challenges are a great thing to incorporate into your program. Not only is the goal to improve physical health, but a lot of times they also bring about more social connection within and between your teams. There are many different types of challenges you can do from step and distance challenges to a weekly workout challenge or an hours of sleep challenge. Go back to your survey results and what your goals and objectives are as you define what your challenge will look like. 

Some other elements could be actual classes on wellness topics. These could be workout classes, breathing and meditation sessions or lessons on nutrition. The sessions could be in person, pre-recorded or done virtually. It really depends on your company and your employees.

There are a variety of other things you can include such as free health screenings, walking groups, an upgrade in workplace food options or employee gym memberships. This again really depends on your business and your budget.

It’s important to get the word out to employees. Make sure the instructions for how to participate are easy to understand and be sure to emphasize any rewards you have established for participation or challenge winners. Wellness committee members should talk about the wellness program to their different teams and get people excited. Launching with a party or even a fitness challenge is a great way to start off with a bang.

After your program or wellness challenge has come to an end, be sure to send out a follow-up survey. This can take the same form as the initial survey. Again, it should be anonymous and ask about different wellness habits. You can then see how the answers compare to the initial survey to evaluate if you hit your goals established during the planning stages.