Employers fighting the battle of the bulge - economic and health aspects of employee-sponsored weight reduction programs - includes related article on wages and benefits

Business & Health, Nov, 1991 by Stanley Siegelman

In evaluating how a person tackles his weight problem, a drop in poundage is not the sole criterion of success, he claims. Also significant is the change in body composition. At Apple, before-and-after measurements are made of body fat and muscle mass. Shifts in these factors can occur with little or no change in total weight, Larson observes.

Apple invites employees to enlist in its "Maintain--Don't Gain" drive as the year-end holiday season approaches.

"The idea is to get them safely through Thanksgiving and Christmas without adding pounds," Larson explains. "Weigh-ins are held just prior to Thanksgiving and again right after New Year's Day." Prizes go to those who get through the holidays without gaining weight.

Enrollees in nutrition education and weight management programs are even taken to supermarkets, where healthy foods are pointed out to them. And they are also provided with a list of "healthful" restaurants, where they may truly get the taste of what's being preached.

Apple has not yet tried to quantify the cost benefits of the programs.

Colorado slim

Whether a company benefits financially by spending money on its employees' health is a matter of interest to managers everywhere. This year, Hewlett-Packard Co., which has 3,000 employees at its plant in Fort Collins, Colo., will start tracking the savings from its health programs, says occupational nurse Len Westerkamp at the Fort Collins plant.

H-P has offered its workers on-site Weight Watchers classes for the past five years. Though the employees pay for the classes, H-P provides the space and the company time. The typical class consists of about 25 people, who meet discreetly in a room specially set aside for privacy.

"Employees who participate get to known each other well. They enjoy a distinct camaraderie. There's no doubt that morale is enhanced," Westerkamp says. The company, he notes, does not penalize obese job applicants. Those who are unable to pass a back-strength test, however, do not get hired for particular jobs.

H-P's weight management program is offered in conjunction with other wellness benefits, including smoking-cessation training for which the employee also pays, and on-site aerobics, which are free.

Also in Colorado, Cyprus Minerals Co., an international mining enterprise based in Englewood, finds that the effectiveness of its weight-loss program for employees varies geographically. For example, it does not especially appeal to workers at remote, back-country locations in Kentucky or Arizona, but is heartily embraced in other regions.

For some reason, Montana is the site of its most successful program, says Reuel Hunt, human resources director. He reports that Weight Watchers has conducted on-site classes for the company during the past two years.

Hunt is happy about the impact on workers. "The program produces attitudinal changes not only among employees, but among their families as well," he says. "Their eating habits change for the better, and they become more aware of good nutrition. The company benefits by having happier and more physically fit workers."