Companies that already have workplace wellness programs in place have achieved a 25 to 30 percent reduction in medical and absenteeism costs.

Employees with preventable health conditions such as high blood pressure or obesity, cost employers an incredible 228 percent more than healthier associates.

With these statistics in mind, BCBSNC has created a new website called BCBSNC Workplace Wellness. This site helps companies come up with their own workplace wellness plan to get and keep employees healthy. It offers advice and resources to enhance the health of their employees. The program shows companies how to start a wellness program with some easy steps that are based on suggestions from Fit Together, which is a partnership between the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund and BCBSNC.

Once inspired to form a wellness program, a company must plan and create. This includes providing employees with incentives to eat right and get active, determining specific needs and expectations and making a distinct company commitment. Then to develop and maintain the program, evaluation of the company’s program is necessary and all available help should be used to keep the company’s program in peak condition.

All companies should look into this program in order to lower their costs and improve the health of everyone involved in their company.

Another website, wellsteps.com, is also a useful resource for companies interested in creating wellness programs in the workplace.

Water aerobics became popular in the 1980′s when the YMCA and the Arthritis Foundation created an aquatic program to help with achy joints. Water workouts have since changed to meet a wide range of fitness levels from beginner to high intensity. People in some of the more intense classes look as though they are cross-country skiing or mountain climbing. These kind of moves might explain why so many young people are so drawn to this kind of water exercise. Many of them wear float belts and webbed gloves for more resistance. They start out coming because they are injured or pregnant and end up staying because they just love the workout.

Some instructors claim that it works on some of the small things that weight training doesn’t seem to tackle. They also say it is one of the best ab workouts and that it works on everything. The resistance of the water helps build endurance and muscle strength and it works both the upper and lower body at the same time.

Most doctors recommend combining water aerobics with another exercise such as walking, where you support your own weight, because it is not a weight-bearing exercise.

The first extensive test of exercise on the aging brain revealed that swift walking caused small improvements on mental tests for seniors with memory problems. The results were posted on September 3rd in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Although this small Australian study showed modest results, it backed up observational studies that showed possible mental benefits from physical activity.

According to experts that were not participating in the study, the results of exercise were as good or better than those shown with drugs approved to help with mental function in Alzheimer’s disease.

The authors in the study did warn that the findings don’t prove that exercise will produce significant improvement in how the brain functions or uses memory. They also said that the results of this study should not be used to suggest that exercise reduces the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s.

The authors cannot confirm how exercise might influence brain function; one speculation is that it improves blood flow to the brain. Brain imaging showing any changes in blood flow associated with exercise was not used in this study.

The people that participated in this study involved 85 Australian  adults aged 50 and older. They were assigned 2 1/2 hours of weekly exercise, usually brisk walking, for six months. Their exercise was recorded in diaries and they also received phone calls and newsletters encouraging them to stay with it.

They were asked to stay active even after the first six months. A control group of 85 people were used who were not asked to exercise during the testing period. The exercise group did about 20 more minutes of exercise than the control group.

After a six month period, the exercise group performed 1.3 points better on a 70-point scale of brain function than the group that didn’t exercise. These effects lasted for 18 months.

The costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias amount to more than $148 billion each year and the disease is now the sixth-leading cause of death.

This study brings a bit of positive news for anyone dealing with Alzheimer’s. Hopefully there will be plenty more studies that will help in dealing with this debilitating disease.

Members of the Dallas Running Club were asked how they stayed, or are staying in shape while pregnant. Here are some of their tips, but first and foremost, check with your doctor first!-Dallas Morning News

1. Redefine your fitness goals while pregnant. Trying to lose weight and pushing yourself too hard are just out of the question.
2. Try to begin an exercise program before you become pregnant. Once you are in a routine, your body can recover much better after the birth process.
3. Make sure you pay attention to your body’s signals. Your muscles and joints will change position with your growing belly, and this makes you more vulnerable to injury.
4. Don’t use your heart rate to track your progress, because it is already higher during pregnancy. Just exercise at a comfortable level for your body. If you can carry on a conversation during the activity, you should be fine.
5. Try to concentrate on what you are able to do, not what you could do before pregnancy. Don’t worry, you will get back to normal after the baby comes.  Just being able to walk a little each day will be great for you and the baby!

No matter what your health concerns may be, BCBSNC has a health and wellness program that’s just right for you—and programs come automatically with your plan, at no additional cost.

Begin at the beginning. Get a clear picture of your health status by completing a confidential health survey. Your instant results will tell you where you stand, where your potential health risks may be and what you can do to address them.

Better health is at your fingertips—on your computer that is. If you like to get your information on the Web, we have the program for you. Our online health and wellness program let’s you focus on issues like weight, fitness, nutrition and tobacco cessation. You’ll get the latest clinical information, plus access to interactive tools like virtual trainers and meal planners. These programs deliver results. When you finish, a final assessment reveals how far you’ve come.

Most Americans consider exercise to be a dirty word. No wonder, millions of them are obese. Individuals of all ages, genders, races, ethic groups, and backgrounds have their waist lines expanding beyond their control. Obesity leads to various other health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and liver failure. In such a situation the only hope lies in living a healthy lifestyle, eating a well balanced diet, and exercising regularly.

The unpleasant connotations of exercise come from the image of overactive aerobics teachers in skimpy skintight outfits making people work out until they collapse to the floor from exhaustion. What happens is that excessive exercise leads to frustration and soreness and it’s just too tempting to give up. They go back to their sedimentary lifestyle. This is simply the wrong way to go about it. Instead, if you do regular exercise for fifteen minutes each day, you will be healthier than those who work out for an hour a week.

In order to keep up the tempo it’s best to include a friend or family member. When you work out in numbers you draw strength and motivation from your partner, and even get support that is needed to perform certain tasks that require another individual. However, if there is no one available, you can join an exercise group in a gym or fitness center for a minimal charge. You will get to meet friends and restore your healthy lifestyle.

Set a reachable goal when it comes to exercising. Perhaps your goal is exercising a given amount of time each day or week. Maybe you are striving to run a mile without stopping or increase your stamina level on the stationery bike. Whatever your goal, be sure to set on that is well within your reach.

Many individuals choose to set a long term and short term goal. Your long term goal may be to live a healthier life, whereas your short term goal may be to play a game of soccer with your children without becoming winded. As you accomplish your short term goals, make more as you continue your progress towards a healthy, fit lifestyle.

If you are on a budget, then choose to exercise at home. This is often fulfilling and will provide you with more motivation, since you do not have to travel anywhere to pursue your exercise. You may need to purchase a few basic items, such as weights or mats, when beginning your home gym. Many individuals invest in a stair climber or tread mill in order to best perform in their home.

Besides the work outs, start taking a stroll around the block and exercise outdoors when the weather permits. Gradually you can turn the stroll into a brisk walk. If you have children, use every opportunity to play a game of baseball, football or soccer with them.

The greatest advantage of joining a gym is being able to use various types of equipment available there. Moreover, once you have made a financial commitment you get enough motivation to work out regularly.

After a while, we build doubt and begin to lose focus on our overall objective. Eventually look for an excuse to cheat. You ask yourself, “Why?”

It has been proven that those who diet 14 days as free of temptation as possible will ultimately give you the best chance of weight loss success.

So, what are the alternatives? At the grocery store you find “Fat Free” and “Low Calorie” snacks that you know are bad for you. And then you decide to celebrate and you limit yourself to a treat because you “deserve it”.

It’s not like we need to someone to hold our hand into temptation. It surely doesn’t help that there is a fast food restaurant on every corner. Our low-carb brain tells us to order a bun-less cheeseburger or grilled chicken salad with a Diet Coke (we are on a diet, aren’t we?).

Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s almost like we want to fail.

Personally, I think it’s akin to the emotional reasons we eat, whether we are actually hungry or not. The next time you’re standing in front of the fridge, door swung wide open, staring in a blank trance as if some magical zero-cal or zero-carb delicious delight will suddenly appear.

So what’s the solution? Plain and simple: short-term goals. Instead of long-term goals and goals that are built around results, plan action goals similar to “walking an hour a day” or “no eating after dinner“. Lifestyle changes are the key to results.