Employer-based wellness programs may help employees lose weight andkeep it off on a long-term basis, when workers are offered repeator on-going access. (Photo: Shutterstock)

A new study shows that ongoing weight-loss programs in theworkplace can help employees keep weight off, improving theiroverall health.

One of the ongoing debates in the area of workplace wellness iswhether wellness programs offer true return-on-investment. In thearea of weight-loss programs, concerns often center around whetherweight loss can be maintained, or whether it's temporary, alongwith associated health improvements.

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The latest study, entitled "The Efficacy of Repeated Corporate SponsoredCommercial Weight Loss Programming," published in the Journalof Occupational and Environmental Medicine, offers some good newsfor corporate wellness programs. Overall, the study found thatemployer-based wellness programs can help employees lose weight andkeep it off on a long-term basis, when workers are offered repeator on-going access to workplace weight loss programs.

More than 10,000 participants

The study was a large one, with 11,825 participants from twogovernment employers. The researchers used a commercially availableweight loss course, from the Dallas-based company Naturally Slim,as its model. The Naturally Slim program consists of 10 weeklyclasses, followed by 7 bi- weekly and 6 monthly maintenance classesfor a total of 52 weeks. In addition to workplace classes, theprogram has a strong online element, including mobile apps. Theparticipants can take follow-up classes to refresh their skills attheir own discretion.

The findings showed that the employees on the program lostweight the first time they completed it, but on average,experienced some weight regain after completing the program. Whenemployees chose to participate in the program again, they lost moreweight, leading to an average long-term weight loss ofapproximately 4.5 percent of their initial body weight.

An ongoing solution to a long-term challenge

The report acknowledges the difficulty of keeping weight off forthose participating in traditional weight loss programs. "Whileintervention strategies have the potential to impact weightinitially, many experience regain, and are unable to maintain theirlost weight," the study said. "The workplace offers a uniqueopportunity to examine the availability of continual access toprogramming as a means of behavioral reinforcement accompanyingefforts to promote weight loss amongst employees."

The study had some limitations, the report noted, for example itlacked a control group and relied on self-reported risk factors,but the researchers said the results matched similar studies. Oneinteresting finding was that when a subset of participants wasoffered financial incentives for maintaining weight loss, the datashowed no significant effect in keeping weight off.

Overall, the study said, weight loss and the health improvementsassociated with it can be maintained by employees who can continueto access programs over time. "Our analysis demonstrates that acommercial, web-based, worksite course that targets weight loss iseffective in reducing weight when employees are given continuedaccess to the course," the report said. The researchers concludedthat the weight loss program in the study was clinically beneficialto employees.

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