Wellness

Aid program provides one-time financial help to employees in need.

The allure of lower premiums and higher consumer engagement is powerful, but it may not work in the end.

Employers may be shifting too quickly to outcomes-based wellness programs.

A growing range of cost transparency tools are attempting to help employees make better health care decisions.

The lowly pedometer has become a cornerstone of wellness programs, providing a range of real data to help employees lose weight and get more active.

No statistically detectable differences were evident between exercise and drug treatment for patients with coronary heart disease or prediabetes, and exercise was more effective among patients recovering from a stroke.

Creating a smart consumer takes more than health care reform and adopting a consumer-driven health plan.

“Our job [as HR professionals] is to improve the lives of human beings. We’re responsible for that,” explained Gary Earl, founder and team captain of Journey for Health Tour, for which Earl and his team are riding a bicycle 3,000 miles across America to promote health improvement.

His workouts could easily be integrated into wellness programs – and no doubt have – but Richard Simmons’ own message was an individual one of self-empowerment and life-affirmation.

Adopting a diet rich in unprocessed foods combined with moderate exercise and stress management over five years increased the length of telomeres, the ends of chromosomes linked to aging.

Deaths from cancer have dropped by more than a million in the past two decades, but could an aging population change that?

“High levels of participation are critical for wellness program success, but companies are falling short when it comes to outcomes-based incentives,” says the executive director of bswift.

Bowers + Kubota has been named one of the best places to work in the Hawaiian islands more than once – and their workforce culture has been recognized nationwide, too.

EBN spoke to Jay Starkman, CEO of Engage PEO, about the AMA classification of obesity and how it might affect employer decisions.

Benny Award winner Elaine Beddome creates wellness program with global reach and launches unique early retirement program for Hewlett Packard employees.

Health plan trains employee-volunteers to take lead role in wellness education.

Gas company Air Liquide launches a wellness program based on its successful safety program.

The benefits of wellness programs are unknown so their value is up for debate.

American Heart Association uses Hotseat app to get employees to move more.

Employee benefits and financial professionals may need to make their New Year’s resolutions a bit early.