GetFit Wellness and Wellness Technology Partnership

October 29th 2007

GetFit Wellness Ltd (GW) a leading provider of web-based wellness and healthy living solutions today announced a strategic partnership with Wellness Technology Ltd (WT) a leader in population health assessment and health promotion programmes.

The deal means that GW's award winning exercise and nutrition services will be seamlessly integrated with WT's health assessment solutions offering highly personalised physical activity and nutrition programmes to individuals that need to be more active, lose weight and improve long-term health.

Mike Owen, Director at Wellness Technology said:

"By including GetFit Wellness' services within our health assessment platform it means that we can now not only identify a person's health risks but also provide them with highly tailored behaviour change programmes to reduce them. We chose GetFit Wellness because their solutions are so personalised and comprehensive with powerful management reporting capabilities to demonstrate participation, behaviour change and health outcomes."

The Department of Health predicts that 31% of the population will be obese by 2010 and work-related stress is costing the economy £3.7bn per year, according to the Health and Safety Executive, so health promotion and behaviour change programmes that can identify and support individuals to manage their weight, heart health and diet can play a vital role in arresting these trends.

Steve Russell, Co-CEO at GetFit Wellness commented:

"We are delighted to be partnering with Wellness Technology in order to help large populations of people identify, adopt and sustain a healthier way of life. Exercise and nutrition are two of the most important determinants of health and we have invested heavily to provide programmes that are attainable, personal and follow best practice."

The combined services will be available to WT's customers by December 2007.

About Wellness Technology Ltd

Wellness Technology delivers detailed health risk assessment programmes for both organisations and individuals. Confidential web-based questionnaires gather personal data on activity, diet, sleep, psychological health and social health, and organisational data on the job, the psychological environment and corporate culture. The anonymised data is then analysed using traditional statistical techniques combined with artificial intelligence to provide detailed analysis of health risk together with direction and information to maintain or improve that risk

GetFit Wellness wins major healthcare accolade - June 2007

June 2007

GetFit Wellness has been awarded a coveted Medical Futures Innovation Award in recognition of our online wellness services, and the contribution they can make in helping people to adopt and sustain healthier lives.

A Medical Futures Innovation Award is the UK's most sought after healthcare accolade. The judges this year included the likes of Sir Victor Blank, Michael Sherwood, Sir Richard Sykes, Baroness Susan Greenfield, and Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub and represent one of Europe's leading think tanks on healthcare innovation.

The Awards, supported by the Prime Minister, are a national showcase of clinical and commercial excellence and help encourage, support and reward new ideas and advancements in healthcare that can improve people's lives and have been referred to by the national press as the 'Healthcare Oscars'.

Needless to say we are delighted to receive such an award and feel it demonstrates that our work in health promotion is front of mind among leaders of the healthcare profession. Our Innovation was chosen on three principle criteria, namely; novelty; impact on patient care and its viability, whether clinical, technical or commercial.

http://www.medicalfutures.co.uk/innovation_awards.php?mn=1

Obesity increases risk of injury on the job - May 2007

http://www.eurekalert.org

Having a body mass index (BMI) in the overweight or obese range increases the risk of traumatic workplace injury, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy. Employer-sponsored weight loss and maintenance programs should be considered as part of a well-rounded workplace safety plan. The study was Advance Access published on May 7, 2007, by the American Journal of Epidemiology.

BMI is a measure of body fat based on an adult's height and weight. It is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight, 18.5-24.9 is normal; 25-29.9 is overweight and over 30 is obese.

Current Culture Makes it Hard for People to Exercise, Four Out of Five Americans Say - May 2007

http://www.earthtimes.org/

Ninety-nine percent of Americans believe that exercise helps preserve good health, but most feel they have to battle current culture to exercise regularly and that the government should do more to promote physical activity. These were the findings of a national public opinion poll released today by the International Health, Racquet & Sports club Association (IHRSA) in advance of its 5th Annual Legislative Summit, which runs May 16 and 17.

The survey, "The Importance of Exercise," comes at a time of mounting debate on how the nation should address escalating health care costs and alarming rates of obesity and chronic disease. Chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States and account for the vast majority of health care spending. Research has shown that exercise is a key factor in preventing chronic disease.

GetFit Wellness short listed for prestigious Medical Futures Innovation Awards - March 2007

A Medical Futures Innovation Award is the UK's most sought after healthcare accolade. In just four years the programme has grown to include a host of national specialty Award areas, working hand in hand with the medical and scientific key representative bodies, to encourage, support and reward clinical and commercial excellence from the healthcare & life sciences professions. The Awards, supported by the Prime Minister, have achieved coverage in over 300 publications, been featured on the BBC, ITV & Sky News, and referred to by the national press as the 'Healthcare Oscars'.

This year saw in excess of 2000 entrants and GetFit Wellness services have made a short-list of 12 in the cardiovascular category.

http://www.medicalfutures.co.uk/innovation_awards.php?mn=1

Why a fit workforce is good for business

February 2007

www.eveningnews24.co.uk It is estimated that 200 million working days are lost to sickness absence each year at an estimated cost of £12 billion to the British economy.

Fitter workers are happier and healthier and less likely to be off sick. Improving health leads to improved staff morale, higher energy levels, recruitment and retention.

The Labour Government launched its Health, Work and Well-being strategy in 2005. It is led by Dame Carol Black, who will spearhead initiatives to improve health in the workplace.

The strategy places the responsibility for improving the well-being of workers firmly in the hands of employers.

Companies are being encouraged to take up a range of initiatives, including campaigns to stop smoking, promote cycling to work and healthy eating; offering regular health checks, confidential counselling, medical screenings, advice on nutrition and exercise and gym membership to staff; having banning the lift days, office games, departmental football tournaments and office aerobics classes.

The increasing long hour's culture in the UK, coupled with the fact most people work in a sedentary office environment, has fed the growing problem of obesity and rising stress levels.

Dr Jacqueline Granlese, senior lecturer in the School of Management at the University of East Anglia, said employers should look after the well-being of their employees as they had a duty to undertake risk assessments on levels of stress in the workplace and pay attention to factors that may impact on stress levels in the workforce. She said stress was likely to be the most dangerous risk to businesses in the 21st century.

"It has been proven that facilitating wellness among 2,000 staff on a salary of £25,000 will bring a £4,000 financial gain per employee in terms of lower sickness and absence," she added.

Most Britons will be obese in 25 years

March 2007 - FIA Media Review

The Daily Mail reports on the findings of a report on obesity by Professor Klim McPherson, an Oxford University scientist and Government adviser. Dr McPherson says that on current trends half of the UK population will be clinically obese by 2032.

Dr Colin Waine, director of the National Obesity Forum, said the findings were 'very frightening' and that the Government showed signs of 'beginning to wake up' to the problem: "There are good things happening in some parts of the country, but we seem to lack a national strategy. And if ever there was a need for one, this report outlines it. We need measures to ensure a better, more nutritious diet for the nation. We really need to think about things like the pedestrianisation of city centres, so that at least people walk between shops.' A Health Department spokesman said:

"The bottom line is Government will support people to lead healthy lives but people need to take responsibility for their health."

Would you hire someone who was obese?

March 2007

www.workplacelaw.net

A poll by The Obesity Awareness and Solutions Trust (Toast) found that 93% of HR professionals think that obesity is stigmatised and 71% claim that their organisation is failing to properly tackle obesity issues.

Ninety per cent of employers said that they would hire someone of a 'normal weight' rather than an obese candidate if both applicants were equally qualified for the role. This might be explained by the results of a poll by consultants the Aziz Corporation, which showed that employers generally believe that people who are fit and healthy are better able to cope with the stresses and demands of a senior job.

In Workplace Law's Discrimination Law 2006: Special Report authors Martin Brewer and Anna Young of Mills & Reeve, consider the issue of 'fattism' in the workplace, commenting that it is often "worth having a look across the 'pond' to see where America is going with developments in its discrimination law as that may well point to developments here in due course".

Though there is currently no law against discriminating against someone who is obese in the US and UK, it is clear to see that issues to do with obesity are on the agenda of both countries.

Absent without leave - managing absence in the workplace

March 2007

http://infoplatoon.com/archives/2007/03/17/absent-without-leave-managing-absence-in-the-workplace/

According to the Institute of Psychiatry (April 2005), for the first time, stress, anxiety and depression have overtaken physical ailments as the most common cause of long-term absence from work.

With sickness absence reportedly costing employers an average of ?522 per employee per year (or an average of 10 lost working days), there are good reasons to look closely at the root causes of absenteeism and, where possible, provide early intervention to support employees in regaining their health.

Stress is typically under-reported as a reason for absence - especially in the early stages - with alternatives such as colds, back pain, migraine or general fatigue being given instead. This under-reporting can occur for a number of reasons. For example, it may be that the individual has not recognised that they might be suffering from stress, or they may be reluctant to admit, either to others or themselves, that this is the real problem.

There is often a stigma attached to stress, related to a perceived inadequacy or inability to cope. This exacerbates the problem by creating an artificial barrier to its identification and management.

Employers urged to pull weight in battle to beat obesity crisis - Telegraph Dec 2006

A long-awaited report from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to be published that reports for a call for far-reaching lifestyle changes to tackle Britain's obesity crisis. Proposals will include asking employers to install bike sheds and to discourage staff from using lifts.

The proposals are expected to include healthier office canteens, more workplace showers and encouragement of staff to go for cycle rides during lunch breaks. Some employers will be asked to offer "tailored" lifestyle programmes to their staff. The report will argue that a healthier, fitter work-force will save employers money in the long run.

Majority of people shun exercise - Independent Dec 2006

Findings from Sport England's Active People Survey, which interviewed 363,724 people aged 16 and over, has been published. The survey found 50.6% of respondents had not participated in "moderate intensity sport or active recreation" for half an hour or more in the past four weeks.

28.4% had done some exercise in the previous four weeks and 21% had met the recommended target of 30 minutes of exercise on at least three days a week. 6.3% said they exercised daily.

NHS pays for tango lessons to sidestep obesity - Telegraph Dec 2006

Caroline Flint will announce the extension of a pilot scheme across England and Wales whereby people leading sedentary lifestyles are prescribed a range of activities. The two-year pilot involved 10 Local Exercise Action pilots funded by the Department of Health and run by NHS trusts, who used a range of unconventional activities to motivate people.

One trust ran street-dance classes to encourage girls aged 10 to 16 to be more active. Children were also taken for country walks and to supermarkets where they learned about healthy eating. Another programme involved over-50s in boxing, skipping and a "tango warm-down". Results published show that the programmes succeeded in increasing exercise rates by an hour and a half each week for those described as "sedentary" or "at risk of particular health conditions."

A DoH spokesman said: "The £2.5 million pilot programme tested a number of ways to help people from priority groups increase the amount of activity they undertake. Overall, the 10 pilots demonstrated that physical activity interventions are cost-effective and can save the NHS money in the long term by reducing ill health.

The benefits are more immediate on a personal level for participants." No extra central funding is being made available for the programme, which will be paid for from existing primary care trust budgets.

This plan is part of a shift in the focus of the health service away from emergency hospital treatment and towards prevention.

Poor hit by rise in diabetes to 3m - Express Nov 2006

A report published by Diabetes UK says 3m people are expected to suffer from diabetes by 2010 and half of these sufferers will be from poor communities. Residents of deprived areas are 2.5 times more likely to develop the disease than those from higher social groups.

They are also 3.5 times more likely to get serious complications like heart disease, strokes and kidney damage. The poor are further disadvantaged by being less likely to have access to appropriate care and vital health checks.

Changing Diabetes - The Times Nov 2006

The Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA) puts across the message that chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes can be prevented by focusing on 3 key risk factors - smoking, physical activity and diet.