Posted by Health Wellness | Posted in Health And Wellness In The Workplace | Posted on 12-11-2008
The 61st annual World Health Assembly is taking place this week in Geneva, Switzerland and at this assembly; the World Health Organization (WHO) is presenting its report titled “Preventing Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) in the Workplace through Diet and Physical Activity.”
The report calls for Workplace Wellness Initiatives to be promoted and implemented worldwide.
Importance of Workplace Wellness Initiatives
The report notes that Non-Communicable Disease related deaths have surpassed transferable disease related deaths and have become the leading global killers. Examples of Non-Communicable Disease’s are heart disease, diabetes and stroke. In 2005, 60% of worldwide projected deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases. They are predicting that this health trend will continue through at least 2030.
Diet, caloric intake, lack of physical activity and tobacco use are the major risk factors in the cause of Non-Communicable Disease’s. Now more than ever, the understanding of the importance of health and wellness is crucial.
Workplace Wellness Initiatives are Effective Tools
The report notes that Workplace Wellness Initiatives are found to be effective in improving health-related risk factors, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The report also notes that Workplace Wellness Initiatives will improve the health of workers, improve the corporate image, improve worker morale, reduce worker absences and sick leave, increase worker productivity, and reduce corporate health care costs.
Workplace Wellness Initiatives Monitoring
Finally, the report mentions that to have a successful Workplace Wellness Program, monitoring and evaluation through Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) and health outcomes are critical and should be included in the Workplace Health and Wellness Plan implementation. The evaluations ensure that the Workplace Health and Wellness Plan developed meets the proper needs of the workers. Employees should be reevaluated on an on-going basis to make sure the Workplace Health and Wellness Plan is still working, or to see if there are any adjustments that need to be made.