Good health screening - the foundation for success

If the composition of the employees in your workplace is anything like the composition of the adult Danish population, there is huge potential to make a difference to the health of your employees - and not least to society as a whole. An initial health screening is the logical first step in the journey towards a healthier workplace.

Health efforts make sense

If we make the assumption that the composition of your employees is similar to the general adult Danish population, then

• 20% of your employees have high blood pressure
  
• approx. 50% have high cholesterol
  
• 15% have diabetes 2 or its precursors
  
• 13.9% are smokers
  
• 58.1% not meeting the minimum recommendations for physical activity
  
• over half are overweight and obese
  
• only 14.6% could say they have a healthy eating pattern.
  

(Figures are taken from the Danish Heart Foundation, the Danish Diabetes Association and the National Health Profile)
Most people know whether they smoke or are overweight, but whether their cholesterol, blood pressure or blood sugar is too high is only known when it has been measured. Of course, the above figures vary depending on the composition of the workforce in terms of age, gender and length of education.

Diet is a great place to start - but it takes coaching and getting used to it

Due diligence

Early identification of at-risk employees gives companies an opportunity to take timely action through workplace health promotion. A health screening helps identify employees who are at risk of developing or have already developed lifestyle diseases, for example.

Using simple methods such as interviews, questionnaires, finger prick blood tests and blood pressure monitors, it's easy to detect potential health problems and better target efforts and resources.

The health screening itself doesn't make much of a difference to the health of the company, but in cases where an undiagnosed high blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar level that requires treatment is detected, a health check will of course have an effect, provided that the employee gets treatment.

Health promoting interventions

The suggestions below are classic areas of action and solutions that can be implemented after the health screening.

Costs

If a company wants to promote healthy food choices in the workplace, this can typically be achieved through employee education and coaching, implementing policies to limit unhealthy options, using nudging techniques and making healthier alternatives more accessible.

Tobacco

The workplace can support smoking cessation through individual or group counseling interventions, provision of nicotine replacement therapy and implementation of smoke-free policies.

Physical activity

Create environments that facilitate and promote physical activity and micro-training in the form of simple and short strength training sessions with colleagues.

By Henrik Duer, Exercise Physiologist - visit my website here.

Thanks to Lars L. Andersen, Professor of Healthy Working Life at the National Research Center for the Working Environment(NFA).