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 Wellness:
Employees Are Searching for a Healthier Lifestyle
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According to a survey conducted by Health Enhancement Systems in Midland, Mich., workers want to improve their lifestyles and seem to believe that eating healthier, losing weight and exercising may be the best ways to make those improvements. More than 10,000 employees from 26 employers throughout the United States participated in the survey. The following are the top 10 health and lifestyle concerns of U.S. workers:
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- Eating healthier food-51 percent of respondents.
- Losing weight-46 percent.
- Exercising more often-43 percent.
- Self-care-40 percent.
- Financial planning-40 percent.
- Retirement planning-36 percent.
- Managing stress better-34 percent.
- Balancing work and family-31 percent.
- Sleeping better-30 percent.
- Relationships/Communication-28 percent.
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More information on this study is available by calling (800) 326-2317
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Summary of Health Care Costs
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- US spends more on health care than any other nation, but in many respects, its citizens are not the healthiest
- Lifetime medical costs average $225,000 per person
- In the next 10 years, health care expenses are projected to rise at a rate twice as fast as the economy and inflation
- In 2002, HCFA projects the national health care expenditure will exceed $2 trillion
- Preventable illness makes up approximately 70% of the burden of illness and its associated cost
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U.S. Health Care Expenditures Compared to other Developed Countries
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| Country |
per capita: |
United States
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$3,925
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Switzerland
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$2,547
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Canada
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$2,095
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United Kingdom
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$1,347
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Australia
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$1,805
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Norway
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$1,814
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Japan
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$1,741
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Source: HCFA Publication Number 03412, March 1999
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Most Common Worksite Health Programs
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No. of employees
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<100
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100+
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Occupational health and safety
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85%
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87%
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Back injury prevention
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75%
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73%
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Fitness
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47%
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53%
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Alcohol/drug policies
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42%
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43%
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Smoking cessation
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41%
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48%
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Nutrition
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33%
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57%
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Weight management
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31%
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46%
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Health risk appraisal
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21%
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38%
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Blood pressure screening
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23%
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50%
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Cholesterol screening
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18%
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45%
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Amer. J. of Health Promotion, 13:(6) 358-364, 1999
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Cost of Preventable Diseases
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Disease
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Cost
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Heart disease - bypass surgery
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$30,000
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Lung cancer - cancer treatment
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$29,000
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Stroke - treatment and rehab
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$22,000
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HIV infection - AIDS treatment
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$75,000
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Alcoholism - liver transplant
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$250,000
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Drug abuse - treat drug baby
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$63,000
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Work accident - quadriplegic care
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$570,000
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Low birth weight baby - intensive care
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$10,000
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Osteoporosis - hip fracture & rehab
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$40,000
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No immunization - treat congenital rubella
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$354,000
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Cervical cancer - cancer treatment
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$28,000
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Source: Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
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