KHPH

More Reasons Why Little Changes = Bad Advice

Tuesday, 21 February 2012 00:00

If you’re a longtime reader of the Health Promotion Practitioner, you know we believe it’s counterproductive to tell people to change health habits in little steps. Among other things, it makes it too easy to slip back to old patterns. Findings in the Journal of Happiness Studies may shed light on why health educators persist in this approach — not because it works, but because it may be less stressful in the short term for participants.

The results show people who work hard at a skill or ability (such as mastering a math problem or learning to drive) may experience stress in the moment, but report greater happiness — daily and longer term — as they become competent. In other words, a little pain results in greater long-term gain.

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Target Your Middle-Aged Population: It’s Never Too Late

Thursday, 16 February 2012 00:00

One of the biggest excuses by those ages 45-60 for unhealthy habits is “it’s too late for me.” A classic study published in The American Journal of Medicine (July 2007) helped put that myth to rest. “Turning Back the Clock: Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle in Middle Age” followed 15,708 participants for over 6 years.

The study focused on 4 healthy habits:

• Consuming at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily
• Exercising at least 2½ hours/week
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Not smoking.

At the beginning of the study 1344 people were engaged in all 4 healthy behaviors; during the study period another 970 people newly adopted the behaviors (others improved but did not reach compliance with all 4). The fully compliant group reduced their chances of heart disease by 35% and their risk of dying prematurely from all causes by 40%. Further, people who had fewer than 2 healthy habits at the start of the study, but adopted 1 more healthy behavior by the end, reduced risk of dying prematurely from all causes. This suggests that even modest lifestyle improvement in middle age can have a significant health impact.

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Wellness Campaign Incentives – on the Cheap

Monday, 13 February 2012 00:00

One subject near and dear to corporate wellness coordinators is wellness campaign incentives. But often it’s not so near and dear to management, especially in this austere economy. Yet certain types of incentives can be quite inexpensive. Let’s explore some low-cost, fun ideas that are also effective in team building… and a highly valued enticement to wellness program participants.

Work-Related Perks

These can involve temporarily relieving the worker of some unpopular responsibility, such as not being required to attend a certain meeting or not working a set number of weekends. Or it might be a week in a preferred parking spot or lunch with the CEO.

Perks can become door prizes for wellness program or health fair participants, awards in a contest or fund-raiser, etc. Try placing a point value on these incentives and making them available for “purchase” with points accrued over time through program participation.

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