Just one more reason to jump on the wellness bandwagon:Participants in comprehensive workplace wellness programs achieve asignificant reduction in health risks in as little as 18 months,according to a study conducted by the Principal Financial Group.The study shows the greatest impact among participants who alsoreceived personalized health coaching.

Almost all wellness program participants showed some improvementin health risk status, but for individuals participating inone-on-one health coaching, more than one in three (34 percent)moved from a high risk status to a lower risk category. This shiftsignificantly decreases their likelihood to develop diabetes, heartattack or stroke. The percentage of participants consideredlow-risk increased by more than 11 percent.

The study—which tracked 12,000 adults enrolled in Principalwellness programs over a two-year period—monitored several keyindicators of metabolic syndrome including blood pressure, waistcircumference, triglycerides and tobacco use.