COMPANIES SHOULD PROMOTE CULTURE OF HEALTHY LIVING

As much as I agree that the private sector should be getting more involved, so too should the Government. They have forced affirmative action down our throats, they have made the labour laws hugely difficult to negotiate, they have beaten us up with their BEE requirements, so they too must bare part of the burden of promoting healthy living and please don't ask us for more money to do this - if they stopped half of the fraud that is taking place at top levels in government, there would be more than enough to foot the bill!

It's time Government stopped waiting for everybody else to do the work and got on with doing some of it themselves!

Companies should promote culture of healthy living
31 July 2007 at 10h00

Chronic diseases are exacting an increasingly heavy toll on people's lives, accounting for 60 percent of deaths in the world. They also affect the quality of life for many and weigh down on economic growth, says Craig Nossel, head of Vitality Wellness at Discovery. Chronic diseases make up over half of the diseases in the world. And developing countries are increasingly feeling the burden, which has negative implications for their often under-resourced health services.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that the cost of chronic disease accounts for 3 percent of GDP for developing countries.WHO has set a global goal to reduce death rates from all chronic diseases by 2 percent per year - resulting in the prevention of 36 million deaths by 2015. Nossel points out that chronic diseases are no longer simply affecting the elderly - although ageing populations in many parts of the world are also increasing the burden. The incidence of chronic illnesses among younger people is increasing and this is especially prevalent in emerging economies like South Africa.

This affects the growth prospects of countries as chronic illnesses impact the more productive, younger sections of the population. If WHO achieves its goal of reducing deaths through chronic illness, most of the gains will be in low- and middle-income countries - about half of these prevented deaths would be among people under 70. Nossel says that most of these diseases can be prevented. "Poor nutrition, smoking and a lack of sufficient physical activity are the major causes of chronic illnesses as they can contribute to the onset of heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and certain cancers," he says.

According to the WHO, 4,9 million deaths can be attributed to smoking, while 7,1 million deaths are directly caused by high blood pressure; and 4,4 million to high cholesterol. Lack of physical activity, low fruit and vegetable intake and obesity are high risk factors too - 1,9 million deaths are caused by the lack of regular exercise and 3 million people die because of poor nutrition and obesity.

All of these can be prevented or minimised by changing your behaviour, says Nossel. "It is important to note that these diseases develop over many years and that there is evidence linking conditions in early childhood to health in adult life. In addition, poor health habits are often entrenched at a young age." An extra challenge is the change in the global economy towards more service-oriented industries where workers are more likely to be desk-bound or sedentary. This is especially so in developed economies, but is also increasingly common in emerging economies like India, with its growing IT and call-centre sectors. This puts the focus on companies to pick up the baton and drive prevention of chronic diseases. "Companies are realising that chronic conditions impact their bottom line through lower productivity, hours and days lost, and, in some cases, direct medical expenses," says Nossel. But companies are also in a better position to do something about it through education, facilities and programmes. Often companies already have the infrastructure in place to do so, so leveraging these to encourage healthier lifestyles can be achieved at relatively low cost and across borders in the case of multinationals.

"For instance, companies can use their internal communications systems to promote healthy behaviours, offer healthy options in their canteens and encourage staff to exercise more."Healthy habits learned in the office can also be passed on to the home and to employees' children, says Nossel.Nossel says it's a question of getting buy-in from corporate executives and embedding healthy living in a company's culture." The gains are very tangible. A Canadian study estimates that a 10 percent increase in physical activity could reduce direct healthcare costs by millions." "Corporate companies - particularly the multinationals that operate in emerging countries - have an important role in achieving these gains, to everyone's benefit," says Nossel.