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An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

September 23, 2010

 

Yesterday our company held a Health Fair at our facility that was co-sponsored by our health insurance provider. We were first asked to fill out a fact sheet and give our vital statistics like age, gender, weight, height and a fairly comprehensive health summary.

 

Then we had the following tests conducted:

  1. Blood screening for cholesterol characteristics which included:
    1. Total Cholesterol (TC) – Under 200 Good, Under 180 Excellent, Over 240 Poor
    2. HDL Cholesterol (HDL) – 40+ Preferred, The Higher the Better
    3. TC/HDL Ration – 5 or Less Good
    4. Triglycerides – Under 150 Good
    5. LDL Cholesterol (LDL) – Under 100 Preferred
    6. Glucose – Optimum Levels – 60-100 Fasting, 60-140 Non Fasting
  2. Blood Pressure – Optimum Systolic < 120, Optimal Diastolic < 80
  3. Body Composition – This test gave results in two measures: Percent of Body Fat – Men – Average 17%, Women – Average 25%; and BMI.

 

Outcome:

  1. It did not take as long as you may think. We did this all in one morning with the employees coming at their own pace. We probably spent about 20 minutes per person and we have 73 employees (some of which were on the road today).
  2. Some of our employees uncovered some possible serious conditions for which they can follow up with their own personal healthcare professionals.
  3. Our company culture is competitive. So, you would expect that people would start comparing results and this has brought up conversations on possible group challenges for weight control, etc.
  4. The very fact that most of us now “know our numbers” creates a positive atmosphere for analyzing our health issues. Do you know your numbers?

 

Bottom Line:

I think this was a grand opportunity to foster the adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” for the health of our employees. Therefore, I can recommend this investment not only for your employees, but for your business as well.

 

That is it for today. Post your comments on the Blog and let us stimulate the discussion.

 

Thanks,

Ted S. Miller