Welcome to Appetite Right™ for companies. We run specially designed healthy lifestyle programs for organisations wanting to improve employee health and wellbeing. Our unique health solution delivers measurable benefits for organisations through purposely planned programs aimed at enhancing employee satisfaction and productivity.

This page provides an introduction to some of the interrelated productivity risks attributable to unhealthy employee lifestyle-related behaviours. Employee lifestyle-related risk factors are becoming increasingly central to human resources professionals as they endeavour to make available innovative organisational productivity initiatives.

There is a growing body of evidence linking health and wellbeing to key business issues. This has led over the last decade to an increasing interest in the health and wellbeing of employees. This has been driven partly by the increasing burden of direct healthcare costs in countries like the United States, but also from a recognition that the economies within the developed world have appreciably changed. The relative contribution of industry, compared with the service sector, to gross domestic product (GDP) has steadily declined since 1980 in many developed countries. According to The World Bank (2000), industry now represents approximately 32% of GDP and services 66%. With the shifting structure of economies have also come new challenges to human resource managers. A predominately service-based economy has fewer tangible assets than its industrialised counterparts, and the wealth that is generated is almost completely reliant upon the less-tangible ‘human capital’ of employees. It has therefore become imperative to ensure that this human factor is optimised in order to meet business demands. In parallel with this greater business emphasis on the human factor has come a greater awareness of health issues. These include conditions like obesity, which in turn cause chronic medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, hypertension, heart disease, some cancers, arthritis, osteoporosis, depression, infertility, breathing difficulties and skin problems.

Evidence of the impact of many lifestyle-related risk factors upon short, medium and long term health is overwhelming. Poor nutritional status, a sedentary lifestyle, excess alcohol intake, smoking and psychological stress are all associated with development of chronic disease. Indeed it has been estimated that about a quarter of all healthcare costs can be attributed to conditions directly resulting from easily modifiable lifestyle factors (Health Enhancement Research Organisation, 2000). As well as the consequences of lifestyle on the genesis of disease, there is increasing evidence of the short term effects such factors have upon individual performance and productivity. Overweight and obesity (high Body Mass Index) have been shown to have a major impact upon employee productivity at work (Journal of Occupation, Environment and Medicine, 1998).

We can therefore conclude that concerns for the health and wellbeing of employees are becoming increasingly important issues for employers. In the United States, programs aimed at improving the lifestyle-related health risks for employees are a reality. Employees are increasingly taking part in these programs and making important lifestyle changes, such as the consumption of healthier diets, exercising, and losing weight. The benefits of such programs include improving employee health and fitness, decreasing medical and disability costs, reducing absenteeism and employee turnover, improving mental alertness, morale and job satisfaction, increasing production, enhancing corporate image, and retaining and attracting quality employees.

Research conducted in the United States by the University of Michigan’s Health Management Research Centre has identified the ‘eight deadly’ sins that rob individuals of healthy lives and create presenteeism by lowering productivity on the job. These factors include:

	Uncontrolled obesity		A poor perception of one’s own health
	Lack of physical activity		Smoking
	Stress		Blood Pressure
	Life and job dissatisfaction		Depression

Research conducted by the University of Michigan has also found that uncontrolled chronic lifestyle diseases such as asthma and allergies, and major diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes can severely impact productivity.

Research into the economic costs of obesity on US employees is staggering. In the US, obesity is associated with:

	39 million lost work days per year
	239 million restricted activity days
	90 million bed days
	63 million physician (GP) visits
	(Current estimates of the Economic Cost of Obesity in the United States, Obesity Research, 1998)

It is generally acknowledged that lifestyle similarities exist between Australians and our colleagues in the US. Lifestyle-related risk factors such as unhealthy eating and sedentary lifestyles are widespread in both societies. Unfortunately a large amount of research into the productivity of Australian employees has not yet been completed in the same depth as in the US. However, an Australian study commissioned in 2005 by Medibank Private, conducted some relevant analysis on 3,620 corporate employees. This study detailed these concerning facts:

	Australian employees don’t get exercise enough. Of the workers surveyed; 10% are completely inactive, 40% engage in only minimal exercise, and another 12% exercise for less than one hour per week.
	Australian employees have poor dietary habits. Of the workers surveyed; almost half (46%) live on high-fat diets. Only 8% eat five or more serves of fruit and vegetables per day.
	62% of the Australian workers surveyed are overweight. Of these, 28% are clinically obese and 34% overweight.
	More than half of the Australian surveyed workers are stressed. 53% of those surveyed feel overwhelmed with stress and pressure.
	A high proportion of the Australian workers surveyed participate in high-risk lifestyle behaviours. 21% smoke daily, and 12% consume 15 or more standard alcoholic drinks weekly.
	More than half of the Australian workers surveyed don’t get enough sleep. 53% get less than seven hours per night, with 22% reporting feeling un-refreshed or exhausted during work.
	Australian employees also reported a high prevalence of experiencing medical conditions in the 3 months preceding the survey. Over half indicated they experienced more than one condition. Back, neck and spinal problems most prevalent at 29%, with high-blood pressure at 11%, and asthma at 13%. Another 12% reported suffering from depression.

The Medibank Private commissioned study also published these insightful comparisons relating to the productivity levels of healthy versus unhealthy Australian corporate workers.

Unhealthy	Healthy
18 days annual sick leave Self-related performance of 3.7 out of 10 49 effective hours worked (full time) per month	2 days annual sick leave Self-related performance of 8.5 out of 10 143 effective hours worked (full time) per month of 10
High fat diet Low energy levels and poor concentration Obese or overweight Irregular sleep patterns Poor stress management techniques	Healthy diet Fit, energetic and alert More attentive at work, better sleep patterns Actively manages stress levels

It is also estimated that in 2005 Australia lost approximately $637 million to indirect health costs such as lost work productivity, absenteeism and unemployment (Monash University, 2007). This is an astounding estimation, which is destined to rise unless practical health interventions are designed in both Australian workplaces and the broader community.

In Australia, a new partnership between the University of Michigan (an international leader in workplace productivity) and the University of Wollongong (an Australian leader in workplace productivity) is making further headway to better understand the state of Australian employee’s health.

The University of Wollongong is attempting for the first time to measure the impact of presenteeism on Australia’s workers and economy. Presenteeism is described as being the feeling that one must show up for work even if one is too sick, stressed, or distracted to be productive; it is best described as the lost productivity that eventuates from feeling unhealthy, leading to decreased motivation and increased lethargy while at work. Presenteeism is recognised by experts as being an insidious reality in the Australian workplace, and is just one of several challenges that Australia and other industrialised nations face under the increasing pressure of global business competition.

Professor Dee Edington, Director of the University of Michigan’s Health Management Research Centre, said in 2004, “It is clear that unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and diseases, when not controlled, rob individuals and companies of hours of productive time even when the employee is working. In the US the cost of presenteeism is believed to equal the sum of absenteeism, injuries and health care costs. There is no reason to believe that Australia is any better off.”

It is therefore imperative for Australian organisations to implement practical health and wellbeing initiatives for their employees. For employers, initiatives need to be about sustaining employee productivity in the framework of an ageing – and in some key measures – less healthy workforce. Employer-sponsored health promotion programs can improve employee health, morale and productivity through reduced absenteeism and presenteeism. They can also act as an essential incentive to attract and retain quality employees in the face of an expected labour scarcity. After all, organisations pay their employees to provide high levels of productivity; it is therefore in the best interest of organisations to ensure the health of employees is optimised, so maximum workforce participation, motivation and efficiency is achieved.

Appetite Right™ addresses these lifestyle-related risk factors in an innovative, integrated, multi-dimensional and personalised approach. Our specialised programs can be tailored to your exact organisational needs. We can also provide a more detailed proposal upon request.

Please contact us for further information.