A MUST for Successful Health and Wellness Programming
It may not be a surprise that most wellness programs tend to focus on exercise and fitness rather than diet quality. But it may surprise you to learn that the research clearly indicates that diet quality needs to be the focus of an effective wellness program.
Poor diet quality is the single leading predictor of premature death and risk of chronic disease. Dr. David Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM, a leading specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine and founder of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, stresses that the data available indicates that the quality of one’s diet has more of an impact on chronic disease outcomes than even physical activity and other health factors such as stress and sleep.
Don’t get me wrong, exercise and fitness are important too. For overall vitality, exercise and food quality are similar. But diet quality surpasses other factors like exercise, stress and sleep in preventing chronic disease and premature death from all causes. During a podcast interview with host and dietitian Ellie Krieger, Dr. Katz says if one eats an optimal diet, exercises regularly and doesn't smoke, their lifetime risk of any major disease is reduced by 80%.
Poor quality diet and lifestyle habits accounted for 60% of COVID hospitalizations and deaths according to the Journal of American Heart Association. Diet quality tracks with COVID outcomes. A higher quality diet for those with COVID meant a better clinical outcome than a lower quality diet.
Poor quality food results in poor health. But using food as medicine can be beneficial to both your employees’ health and your return on investment. Take a look at Dr. Katz’s ROI calculator within the American Journal of Health Promotion (resource below) in which he calculates that an employee with high blood pressure costs one’s employer about $2,000/year, one with type 2 diabetes costs the company $10,000/year, and one with heart disease costs their employer close to $25,000/year.
Including diet quality is a MUST for building a successful health and wellness program to help your employees or and your ROI. Stand out from other health and wellness programs by offering evidence-based nutrition programming! My 12 Fixes to Healthy Challenge Program integrates a Mediterranean diet and whole-food lifestyle with food timing, the newest protein science, fitness, sleep, eating ergonomics and mindfulness all in one plan. This 12-Fix Group Challenge can be added to your existing program or be the perfect way to get your employees going. Give it a try and see what you think.
Now is the time to offer nutrition health and wellness programming to your employees. Contact me – let’s set them up for health and wellness success.
