Nutrition and Fitness Programs - An Integral Component of Cigna Corporation's Award Winning Worksite Wellness Initiative

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To examine how a range of nutrition and fitness programs become a visible and successful component of corporate-wide wellness initiatives.A company health survey established that the nutritional and physical activity habits of employees placed them at increased health risk. Simultaneously, employees indicated that exercising regularly, losing ten or more pounds and eating healthier were their desired improvement areas. Company-wide wellness initiatives were launched emphasizing prevention, education and behavior change.Nutrition education was the goal of the Eating Well kit, distributed to 40,840 employees nationwide from 1991-1994. In 1995, a food label packet was developed and included quizzes and raffle prizes. Over 80% of participants stated their shopping habits improved after learning to read the new labels. A recipe book, Upbeat Recipes for Eating Well. included low-fat recipes by employees. The annual Move it & Lose it weight management program involved 1,656 employees. Both successful (85%) and non-successful (66%) finishers increased intake of fruits and vegetables and decreased fat intake.Keep On Moving emphasized sport safety and increasing activity levels to three times per week. Of the 6,296 participants, 23% (1,448) completed the exercise goal.The “Working Well” programs, including Healthy Babies; Breast Health; Medical Consumerism and Auto Safety; and Nutrition and Fitness were honored with the prestigious 1995 C. Everett Koop National Health Award. The nutrition and fitness were a very visible, successful and highly utilized wellness initiative.