Holiday Wellness 101

Holidays are approaching and that means your employees will have less time for exercise, have increase stress levels, and will be attending lots of holiday parties.  According to the US New and World Reports, Americans will have an average weight gain of 1-5 pounds during the holiday season. If you multiply that by the number of employees in your organization the number can be staggering.

One fun and engaging way to combat holiday weight gain is to promote a “Maintain Don’t Gain” competition in your organization.  A Maintain Don’t Gain competition is simply a friendly competition that can incite a fresh new perspective on healthy holiday behaviors and get employees more motivated to help each other.

The Florida Department of Health is offering a Maintain Don’t Gain competition through an alliance with North Carolina State University. It is a FREE seven-week challenge that provides participants with support, education, recipes, and weekly emails throughout the holiday season. This is a free community resource available to your employees. For more information visit the website below:

http://www.healthiestweightflorida.com/activities/holiday.html

There are other options for employees wellness that you can promote during the holidays, such as lunch and learns, host a healthy “cook-off”, “holiday chair massages” , or offer healthy snacks in the break room.  Even simple programs to target holiday stress and weight management could make it a healthier, happier holiday season for your workplace. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or would like assistance with a holiday, tblocker@w3ins.com.