Whole Foods Launches Healthy Eating Campaign for Workers and Customers

National organic grocery store chain Whole Foods Market recently announced the launch of its new Health Starts Here initiative aimed at improving the health of both employees and customers alike. By partnering with two healthy eating organizations, The Engine 2 Diet and Eat Right America, Whole Foods is offering in-store education so consumers can identify healthy, nutrient-dense foods. Employees are now offered increased discounts for participation in worksite wellness programs and more direct health and wellness education.

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Why Wellness Incentives Belong in the Workplace

In a recent Health Affairs blog post, Jaan Sidorov asserts that wellness programs first belong in the workplace, and secondly, offering incentives for both attainment and participation is a feasible and effective component of an overall strategy.

In his post, Mr. Sidorov briefly points out a recent meta-analysis released by researchers at Harvard University that reveals the ROI of workplace wellness to be $3.27. He also points out a contrasting study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine contending that offering incentives in wellness programs is unfair and unattainable for some segments of the population.

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Workplace Wellness Programs Can Generate Savings

In a Health Affairs article published January 14th, Katherine Baicker, David Cutler, and Zirui Song, all of Harvard University, contend that workplace wellness programs can generate savings that outweigh costs in addition to improving health outcomes and employee productivity. This meta-analysis examines costs and savings data from studies on workplace wellness and prevention programs and concludes that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent.

For the complete Health Affairs article, click here.

J and J's Corporate Wellness Efforts

Kaiser Health News today reports on Johnson and Johnson's corporate wellness efforts.

From KHN,

"Dr. Fikry Isaac, executive director of global health services at Johnson and Johnson, runs the company's wellness program. He spoke recently with KHN's Jenny Gold about Johnson and Johnson's program and how corporate wellness could be incorporated into the current effort to overhaul the nation's health system."

Read the complete story here.

Employers and Wellness Incentives

A recent story by Employee Benefit News reports that the average cash incentive in corporate wellness programs has increased from $204 in 2008 to $329 in 2009. In the study conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers and Health2Resources, a health communications firm, researchers also found that in 2007 only 14% of employers were measuring ROI, but in 2009 73% are monitoring their results. In a separate PricewaterhouseCoopers study, those companies that offered gift cards or cash with less than $50 value in exchange for taking a health risk questionnaire had a 42% participation rate, versus the 49% participation rate for those companies offering between $50 and $299.

Read the complete article by clicking here.