The Journal of Metabolic Syndrome & Related Disorders Publishes Report on Efficacy of an Employee Weight Loss Program.
The Journal of Metabolic Syndrome & Related Disorders, the only peer-reviewed journal focusing solely on the pathophysiology, recognition, and treatment of metabolic syndrome, today published new research on the efficacy of the employee weight-loss program Naturally Slim.
The journal concludes that Naturally Slim, ACAP Health’s clinically proven, interactive, technology-based behavioral weight loss program offered by employers to their employees, is an effective tool for weight loss and for reducing metabolic syndrome in employee populations.
Researchers studied 3,880 employees from 93 different employers that used Naturally Slim. The research proved that Naturally Slim is an effective way for employers to improve employee health, which leads to increased employee productivity and reduction in healthcare spending.
“The prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes has risen dramatically in the last two decades and it’s exceptionally high within corporate culture where workdays are long and sedentary,” said Dr. Tim Church, ACAP Health’s chief medical officer. “Most employers are directly responsible for a majority of their employees’ health care costs, so offering an effective solution to combat obesity and its related disorders is critical for businesses. In fact, it’s critical for the health of our country.”
The program can be utilized across large populations, which is of great public health importance given the disease’s increased prevalence. It also has bearing on a company’s bottom line: it is five to 10 times more expensive for companies to insure employees living with diabetes than those without (per a United Healthcare study.)
In addition to proving that technology-based programs offered by employers do work at reducing metabolic syndrome prevalence through weight loss, it also showed that all participants, regardless of initial weight, lost a similar percentage of weight and had similar risk factor improvement. Further, people with the most metabolic dysfunction are the ones that had the most risk factor improvement. On average, men lost a larger percentage of body weight than women but both men and women had significant metabolic syndrome reversal.
Compared to fad diets and other weight loss programs that focus on what to eat, Naturally Slim is a skill-building program that focuses on when and how to eat. Using all the key elements of the most effective, clinical behavioral weight loss programs, the program teaches participants a sustainable way to lose weight and keep it off long-term. The entire program is delivered online, which makes the program turnkey for employers and convenient for employees to participate in on their own time.
Furthermore, Naturally Slim is one solution to the Affordable Care Act’s preventative services provision requiring employers to cover obesity counseling for any overweight or obesity health insurance member at no cost. The provision goes into effect September 1.