Healthy Employees = A Healthier Bottom Line
The health of a business' employees is essential to greater productivity, increased profits and lowered health insurance.
According to Partnerships for Prevention – Advocacy to Health Promotion, U.S. healthcare costs doubled from 1990 to 2001 and will again double by 2012.
However, Ken Fearer, owner of Tatum Wellness Club, a nutrition and wellness center in north Phoenix, says companies can combat growing healthcare costs and, as a result, boost their bottom line with education.
“Ninety percent of ailments can be avoided by (watching) what we put in our mouths,” he stressed.
Fearer, who helps run corporate wellness challenges, says one way to develop healthier employees is by helping them create routines, especially around eating. Instead of the traditional three daily meals, he recommends six or seven meals – in 2.5-hour intervals – balanced around a diet of 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat. This change can help improve brain function and decrease fatigue, which is one of the most common causes of doctor visits.
Fearer also suggests drinking at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. “In Arizona, most people are dehydrated most of the time, especially when they wake up,” he said.
At the employer level, awareness on these types of issues is key when trying to cut costs and increase profits. The problem is many companies' reactive approach to health and wellness. So problems - instead of prevention - become the target.
A study conducted by the Wellness Council of America showed of the roughly $5,000 per employee spent by employers on healthcare, 95 percent was on diagnosis and treatment, two to three percent on early detection and just one to two percent percent on prevention.
Fearer describes his Tatum Wellness Club as a “healthy Starbucks,” providing smoothies, energy and fitness supplements, targeted nutrition, and skin and hair care products. The center's three-part meal consists of a herbal aloe for digestive function, herbal tea for energy and a smoothie for meal replacement. Wellness evaluations and custom meal plans are available for free.
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Tatum Wellness Club
www.tatumwellnessclub.com
This story, written by Tom Trush, is part of the Chamber's monthly Business Driver email newsletter. To sign up for any or all of the Chamber's email newsletters, click here.
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