Obesity is a growing concern in Canada and due to the increased time spent in one’s place of employment, there is an augmented importance placed on healthy living in the workplace. In 2004, approximately 6.8 million Canadian adults between the ages of 20 and 64 were overweight, and an additional 4.5 million were obese as recorded by the Canadian Policy Research Networks (Pierre, N., Pollack, N., & Fafard, P. 2007), further emphasizing the need to reduce obesity rates and to improve overall health. This demographic represents primarily the working population, which is the target population in respect to promoting active living in the workplace. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the “impact of the obesity epidemic on non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer threatens to overwhelm health systems; the need for prevention and control is clear” (ECOSOC/UNESCWA/WHO, 2009) There are a substantial number of policies in place in hopes to reduce obesity rates as well as encourage active living. However, there seems to be a large gap between why the policies are implemented in hopes to achieve a set outcome, and the knowledge of appropriate and effective steps to go about producing the desired change. Additionally, while there are policies in place with the intent of reducing obesity rates, there are few to none that with the intent of promoting active living within the workplace. While the strain on the health care system is evidently a major issue, poor health of employees also has been proven to negatively affect the overall performance in the workplace. Alternatively, good health in the workplace has been proven to reduce absenteeism, reduce the costs of disability and dru... ... middle of paper ... ...mmission. (2013). Issue:Workplace. Mental Health Commission of Canada. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/issues/workplace?page=1&terminitial=30 Ministry of Health. (2013). Promote Physical Activity. – Healthy Environments. Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/environments/whttps://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Physical-Activity/Keep-Active-at-Work#.Uqd295FxsZY Ministry Of H. P. (2007). Ontario's Sport and Physical Activity Strategies. Active 2010, 1. Retrieved November 29, 2013, from http://www.mhp.gov.on.ca/en/active-living/about/active2010-strategy-e.pdf Ontario's action plan for healthy eating and active living. (2006). Toronto, Ont.: Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion. Pierre, N., Pollack, N., & Fafard, P. (2007). Health Policies and Trends for Selected Target Groups in Canada.
This is an essay written in the MIT Sloan Management Review that presents the correlation between businesses and the issue of obesity in order to persuade businesses to take action in regards to preventing the issue. Therefore, its target audience is anyone who currently works in business or plans to do so in the future. In this review, the author begins by citing four internal and external reasons for which businesses should care about obesity: self-preservation, public criticism, employee productivity, and opportunity. The author proceeds by providing an idea as to how businesses can assist in reversing the trend. In order to do so, he analyzes what he considers to be the two sides of the obesity problem: physical activity and food consumption.
Hoeger, W. K., & Hoeger, S. A. (2008). Lifetime physical fitness and wellness (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth
Obesity is a rising problem in the United States. With obesity rates on the rise something must be done to prevent this massive issue. There are ways to help including educating at young ages, improving nutrition facts at restaurants, and providing more space for citizens to get physically active.
Both the risk factors and the effects of obesity are now more terrifying than any other preventable disease to both the population and the economy of Canada. In a survey of seventeen developed countries, Canada placed only tenth in life expectancy and wellbeing, while placing fourth in the highest spending on healthcare(Flood). A large factor in Canada’s state of poor well-being is obesity; obesity causes one in ten premature deaths of people aged twenty to sixty-four(Ogilvie) and is a leading cause of many life-threatening illnesses: “Obesity is recognized as a major and rapidly worsening public health problem that rivals smoking as a cause of illness and premature death. Obesity has been linked with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, gallbladder disease, some forms of cancer, osteoarthritis,
By 1971, all Canadians were guaranteed access important medical services regardless of income, employment, or health. Canada has one of the highest life expectancies and he lowest infant mortality rates of industrialized countries, which many attribute to Canada’s health care system. In 1984, the Canada Health Act was passed. This act added provisions that prohibited extra billing and user fees for covered services. To support the ten year plan, the federal government increased health care to the Canada Health Transfer from 2006-2007 until 2013-2014 to provide growth in federal funding. On the other end the United states private for profit insurers based our premiums on age, gender, health status, and pre-existing conditions only covering the healthiest people and avoiding the sickest individuals which in turn e...
We need to acknowledge that our methods to control overweight and obesity may commence, but must not conclude with individual accountability. Only a number of diseases require a general approach, other than the effort to hold and decrease the levels of overweight and obesity, and in few places are the stakes higher. Employers seem to have accepted this and are attempting to develop programs to address it.
Coming to a country which has the advantage of getting free health care from a country where people die because they are unable to pay for treatment, is a major plus point. In many countries, health can only be restored when forms are filled and money is deposited. “In Canada, governments are the main source of funding for health care because they play a key role in the insurance market” (Madore, 2005). With this legislation in place, Canada has opened up an amazing opportunity for one’s wellness. This act helps protect, promote and restore physical as well as mental well-being of residents of Canada and facilitates access to health services without barriers. Enforcing this regulation has permitted people to feel secure about their health and not fear about money. Along with the public, health care providers such as nurses are also compensated for the services they
In the UK as well as in other developed countries, obesity is becoming a growing problem this puts pressure on health services and affects individuals’ ability to work, and contribute to the economy. The government feels the pressure to act by taxing unhealthy foods and drinks, and by setting up educational campaigns, (Stephen Adams, 2011).
Over the last decade, with the rising rate of chronic disease and increasing health care cost in the United States, more and more employers started to concern about the impact of this trend, therefore, they have implemented employee wellness incentive program in their organization. Many of those employers believe that such program not only can reduce their financial burden and improve employees’ health, but also can reduce absenteeism and improve morale and productivity within organization. Meanwhile, some studies have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of employee wellness incentive program.
We live in a world that is constantly bounding forward. In that push for innovation, working long hours often overshadows what it takes for a person to maintain a healthy lifestyle. How can we expect to advance as a society if we are not taking care of our own health first? In order to achieve successes beyond what we ever have before, it is necessary for every person to be operating at maximum capacity. Companies that implement nutritional plans and allow their employees to exercise during work hours see improved health of their workers, happier employees, and a spike in business productivity. There is always a presence of the drive to “be better” in business, and this can only be grasped if every individual takes the time to address the basic
The Canadians population of 35,182,000 as of 2013 has a life expectancy of 80 - 84 years as of 2012 report (WHO, 2015), benefit from universal health coverage regardless of social economic class, and past medical history. The benefit of universal health coverage provides access to primary care, dental, hospital, and additional medical services, in alleviating poor health among citizens (Canada Health Care, 2004 - 2007). Although, these accesses do not guarantee good health, as “good health involves reducing levels of educational failure, reducing insecurity and unemployment and improving housing standards. Societies that enable all citizens to play a full and useful role in the social, economic and cultural life of their society will be healthier
With the health care costs reaching high number there is no wonder we have a large number of absenteeism. So many wait to the last possible painstaking work day to decide to see a doctor about their aliment, and all of that could be prevented. Preventing oneself to have to take time off from work is one way to keep costs low. There are so many areas that need to be addressed when it comes to what is going to slow us down as a company. According to estimates by Dr. Jaime Claudio(1991), a corporate wellness consultant for Health Plus, a provider of health-care insurance, a comprehensive eating awareness and weight- management program designed to improve long-term habits could generate an 80% reduction in the incidence of potential problems caused by obesity in the workplace. These problems include hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and diminished work efficiency. Obesity is not the only eating disorder that is a problem, there is bulimia and anorexia. Smoking, drinking, substance abuse, and stress are problems that are brought into the workplace and stop productivity. We have to be aware of issues that are there but are not usually thought of as an illness.
World Health Organization. November, 2013. Global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/pa/en/index.html.
Corbin, C. (2013), Concepts of Physical Fitness: Active Lifestyles for Wellness, McGraw-Hill Higher Education Publishing