From Deseret News archives:
Walker steps up to boost health of state workers
Her 'Work Well' plan includes diet, exercise
It's her hope, she said, that state agencies will take simple steps to help workers eat nutritiously and exercise because the benefits — in both quality of life, boosted productivity and saved health-care dollars — are big. Even better, she'd like to see it spread beyond state government to other employers as Utah's obesity rate continues to grow.
The steps are simple, like offering apples instead of doughnuts, at meetings, or providing showers and lockers for those who want to exercise.
What the governor called "one of the last initiatives of the Walker Work Plan" contains these points:
• Make sure healthful food choices are available at meetings, conferences and training.
• Post healthful eating messages in areas where food is available.
• Work with vendors to include healthful options in vending machines, based on customer preference.
• Encourage employees to take advantage of the existing exercise release policy of 30 minutes thrice weekly.
• Promote use of stairs.
• Provide showers, lockers, bike racks, discount bus passes and flexible work schedules to encourage walking, biking and busing to work.
• Educate employees about safe trails and pathways near near work.
• Set up wellness councils at work sites to encourage healthful eating and physical activity.
The plan has been sent to all state agencies, and "we hope it will be posted throughout the state," Walker said.
If all state agencies implement the recommendations, the result should be overall health improvement, stress reduction and decreased health-care costs, said Dr. Scott D. Williams, executive director of the Utah Department of Health.
It's never too late to start taking better care of yourself, Williams said. His own stepped-up emphasis on nutrition and exercise was driven by the facts that he was "getting older faster than my children" and wanted to be able to play and recreate with them, and he was, as health director, promoting a message that he wasn't actually embracing himself.
Weight loss wasn't on his mind, but as he ran and ate better and exercised, he found he did lose weight while building energy and stamina.
The press announcement was made at the State Room Cafe at the Utah Capitol, where at least 40 percent of sales are from nutritious food, said manager Todd Huchendorf. Nutritious foods include the salad bar, made-to-order sandwiches, juices and healthy entrees, he said. The cafe has "committed to work with the Health Department" on providing and pointing out healthy choices.
The plan's "wellness council" concept isn't entirely new. The Department of Corrections, for instance, has had one for some time. Over four years, the number of participants, made up of people working in the department, has grown. They have started walking traditions, as well as offering brown bag seminars each month. Topics have included everything from weight lifting to Mediterranean cooking, aerobics, basketball and yoga, said Judith Henley, who serves on that council.
"We encourage other agencies to utilize employees to establish wellness councils," she said. "Increased activity and eating better reduces stress and improves health overall."
E-mail: lois@desnews.com
