Health and Wealth: The Importance for Lifestyle Medicine.

Many people spend years dreaming about their retirement. Unfortunately, today's workers will likely work longer, suffer greater economic uncertainty, and might have poorer health status compared with retirees in previous generations. Preserving good health during the working years is associated with a more consistent employment record, greater financial resources, and reduced risk of disease.

Lifestyle Medicine and Worker Productivity.

The issue of employee productivity has become a major concern for companies. Inefficiency can occur at every stage of production either as poor design, worker limitation, or other factors. It is generally assumed that a healthy worker is more productive than an unhealthy worker.

Health and Economics of Lifestyle Medicine Strategies.

The cost of medical care in the United States is increasing at an unsustainable rate. The lifestyle medicine (LM) approach is essential to influence the root causes of the growing chronic disease burden. LM addresses health risk factors in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of developing disease rather than limiting resources and medical expenditures on acute care and reacting to illness, injury, and disease.

The Future of Health Promotion in the 21st Century: A Focus on the Working Population.

The purpose of this article is to synthesize developments from various disciplines including the medical, wellness, psychology, and sociology fields to shed light on where health promotion is headed in the next 25 years. Lifestyle medicine practitioners will continue to play a large role in helping people achieve the highest levels of wellness, which does not simply mean the absence of disease. New research identifies the important roles of many diverse factors such as relationships, lifestyle behaviors, emotional outlook, positive environment, mind-body connection, use of technology, and work styles, which can help each person achieve the fullness of life, vitality, and flourishing that characterizes a high level of well-being.

Development and validity of a scale to measure workplace culture of health.

Objective: To describe the development of and test the validity and reliability of the Workplace Culture of Health (COH) scale.

Methods: Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed on data from a health care organization (N = 627). To verify the factor structure, confirmatory factor analysis was performed on a second data set from a medical equipment manufacturer (N = 226).

Clinical evaluation of a novel on-strip calibration method for blood glucose measurement.

This study evaluated a novel technology for improving accuracy of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). The technology calibrates each and every test by measuring the response from a predetermined amount of glucose present in the sample chamber of each test strip. SMBG test strips were modified to include a lid coated with a fast dissolving formulation containing glucose.

Evaluation of a comprehensive employee wellness program at an organization with a consumer-directed health plan.

Objective: Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) are popular among employers in the United States. This study examined an employee wellness program and its association with employee health in an organization that recently initiated a CDHP.

Methods: This retrospective observational analysis compared the health risks, employer-paid health care costs, and short-term disability absences of employees of a large financial services corporation from 2009 to 2010.

Predictors of behavior change intention using health risk appraisal data.

Objectives: To investigate predictors of behavior change intention and discuss potential implications for practitioners.

Methods: Health risk appraisal (HRA) data from 2 organizations were used to develop and confirm a path analysis model for predictors of intention to change behavior.

Results: Lower self-rated health perception and higher ratings of stress corresponded to higher behavior-change intention scores.

Reduction in health risks and disparities with participation in an employer-sponsored health promotion program.

There is an increasing awareness among employers and health care providers that health care needs to be tailored to address the diversity of the workforce. Population-based data have shown significant differences in health behaviors and health risks among different racial/ethnic groups in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine health risks and changes in health risks over time in an employed population at a financial services corporation.

Impact of compliance to oral hypoglycemic agents on short-term disability costs in an employer population.

This study evaluated the relationships between compliance with oral hypoglycemic agents and health care/short-term disability costs in a large manufacturing company. The retrospective analysis used an observational cohort drawn from active employees of Ford Motor Company. The study population consisted of 4978 individuals who were continuously eligible for 3 years (between 2001-2007) and who received a prescription for an oral hypoglycemic agent during that time.

Examining individual factors according to health risk appraisal data as determinants of absenteeism among US utility employees.

Objectives: To investigate predictors of absenteeism and discuss potential implications for policy/program design.

Methods: Health Risk Appraisal (HRA) data and self-reported and objective absenteeism (personnel records) were used to develop a structural equation model, controlling for age, sex, and job classification. A Medical Condition Burden Index (MCBI) was created by summing the number of self-reported medical conditions.

Advancing workplace health protection and promotion for an aging workforce.

Objective: To explore issues related to the aging workforce, including barriers to integrating health protection and promotion programs, and provide recommendations for best practices to maximize contributions by aging workers.

Methods: Workgroups reviewed literature and case studies to develop consensus statements and recommendations for a national approach to issues related to older workers.

Results: Consensus statements and actions steps were identified for each of the Summit goals and call-to-action statements were developed.

The association of technology in a workplace wellness program with health risk factor reduction.

Objective: Determine whether there is a relationship between level of engagement in workplace wellness programs and population/individual health risk reductions.

Methods: A total of 7804 employees from 15 employers completed health risk appraisal and laboratory testing at baseline and again after 2 years of participating in their personalized prevention plan. Population and individual health risk transitions were analyzed across the population, as well as by stage of engagement.

Work environment and psychosocial factors affecting physical activity among Taiwanese information technology professionals: a structural equation modeling approach.

Objective: To examine the relationships among work environment, psychosocial factors, and physical activity (PA) among information technology (IT) professionals.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of 576 IT professionals from three IT companies in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretically supported model using social cognitive theory, incorporating variables from the demand-control model.

The burden and management of dyslipidemia: practical issues.

The objective of this study is to describe briefly the burden of dyslipidemia, and to discuss and present strategies for health professionals to improve dyslipidemia management, based on a review of selected literature focusing on interventions for dyslipidemia treatment adherence. Despite the availability of effective lifestyle and pharmaceutical therapies for dyslipidemias, they continue to present a significant economic burden in the United States. Adherence to evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of dyslipidemias is unsatisfactory.

Translation and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the perceived workplace environment scale in Taiwanese information technology professionals.

Background: The six-item Perceived Workplace Environment Scale (PWES) is a self-report instrument designed to measure employees' perceptions of the extent to which their workplace environment supports employee physical activity. A Chinese version is needed to facilitate workplace physical activity research in Chinese speaking countries.

Objectives: This paper describes the translation process and the psychometric properties of the newly translated Chinese version of the PWES (PWES-C).

Multilevel analysis of the physical health perception of employees: community and individual factors.

Purpose: To investigate whether the communities where employees reside are associated with employee perception of overall physical health after adjusting for individual factors.

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional.

Setting: Active employees from a large manufacturing company representing 157 zip code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in Michigan.

The Healthy LifeWorks Project: a pilot study of the economic analysis of a comprehensive workplace wellness program in a Canadian government department.

Objective: To examine the relationship between health risks and absenteeism and drug costs vis-a-vis comprehensive workplace wellness.

Methods: Eleven health risks, and change in drug claims, short-term and general illness calculated across four risk change groups. Wellness score examined using Wilcoxon test and regression model for cost change.

Presenteeism: critical issues.

Objective: The objective of this commentary is to discuss the issues surrounding the concept of presenteeism, including the measurement of lost work time per individual, the conversion of the scores attained by the instruments into expressions of productivity loss, and the translation of productivity losses into economic outcomes.

Methods: Literature searches using PubMed and MEDLINE were conducted using "presenteeism" and "productivity" as keywords and combined with other studies known to the authors. Publications on presenteeism instruments and their applications were included.

An observational study of an employer intervention for children's healthy weight behaviors.

Objective: This observational study was undertaken to assess whether changes in healthy weight behaviors could be advanced in a short-term intervention involving parents and children at IBM.

Methods: IBM's Children's Health Rebate offered a cash incentive for parents to complete a 12-week program of self-selected activities in family food planning and meals, family physical activity, and sedentary time related to electronic entertainment ("screen time"). A preprogram/postprogram comparison of self-reported activities was used to assess behavior change.

Impact of the prevention plan on employee health risk reduction.

This study evaluated the impact of The Prevention Plan™ on employee health risks after 1 year of integrated primary prevention (wellness and health promotion) and secondary prevention (biometric and lab screening as well as early detection) interventions. The Prevention Plan is an innovative prevention benefit that provides members with the high-tech/high-touch support and encouragement they need to adopt healthy behaviors. Support services include 24/7 nurse hotlines, one-on-one health coaching, contests, group events, and employer incentives.