Healthy habits start at work, expert says

November 30, 1999

The "cause behind the cause" of rising health care costs is unhealthy behavior, argues Troy Adams, and work is the place to address it.

Adams was a keynote speaker Tuesday for the fifth annual Working Well Conference, sponsored by the Health and Wellness Coalition of Wichita. Adams is vice president of WellSteps, an Arizona work site wellness company.

Work is the perfect place to begin changing the culture because "good things happen when people are together," he said, using churches and schools as examples.

Small steps can have huge payoffs: "Little things, done over time, lead to chronic health," he said.

For a work site wellness program that works, he said, it must enlist leadership support, begin to change culture and environment, assess employee health, have planning and implementation, and evaluate effectiveness.

A number of groups have data and evidence about the effectiveness of wellness programs, he said, and his company provides a free return on investment calculator on its Web site, http://wellsteps.com.

Among his tips for those considering wellness programs:

* Leave the "biggest losers" contests to TV. "People can't sustain big. People can sustain simple."

* Set up a wellness committee, but don't give it too much or too little to do. "There's a fine balance."

* Keep financial incentives to a minimum, to prevent "entitlement mentality." Half of employees will make a change for a $25 incentive; even at $500, you won't get 100 percent.

* Three- to eight-week campaigns around themes such as TV Timeout, Veggie Up or Maintain Don't Gain are effective.

* Create a supportive environment. Help could come from the Health and Wellness Coalition of Wichita, which will take applications this fall from businesses that want a nutrition expert to help them move to healthy eating at the work place. Watch the coalition's Web site, www.hwcwichita.org, for more information.