Archive for the ‘General Wellness’ Category

“Do Dance” video from Blue Cross Blue Shield of MN

Here is one of the TV ads that BCBSMN is running.  It’s simple and funny, but it makes a great point.  Even if you’re in the workplace, you can take 30 seconds and move your body!

Read the rest of this entry »

Bike to Work Day 2010

Today is Bike to Work Day in Colorado.  Here’s a photo of some of the incentaHEALTH riders who took part in this year’s event.  Last year, over 30,000 riders participated.  Based on the crowds out there today, 2010 looks to be another big year!  I can tell you from personal experience that starting your day [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

USDA releases preview of Food Pyramid changes for 2011

The USDA has released preliminary information about the next round of changes coming to the Food Pyramid.  First published in 1980, the Dietary Guidelines are mandated by Congress to be reviewed, updated and released by USDA and HHS every five years.
Based on the material being released, it is clear that obesity is front and center [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting visualization of obesity prevalence in the U.S.

Jeffrey Heer, a professor at Stanford, has a some neat data visualizations on his web site.  They are part of a nice story he co-wrote in the June issue of the Communications of the ACM about different ways to visualize data.  On his site, you can manipulate this graph below and see the rise in [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Inspiring incentaHEALTH success story

The most rewarding part about being a member of the incentaHEALTH team is hearing success stories from our customers.
One of our participants in Michigan has had an amazing transformation while participating in the incentaHEALTH wellness program.  We know we’re having an impact when we see stories of how our customers make positive improvements in their [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Obesity isn’t just a U.S. challenge: European Obesity Day 2010

It often seems that obesity is an entirely American phenomenon.  May 22, 2010 is European Obesity Day.  While the U.S. tips the scales at 67% of the population being overweight or obese, European citizens measure in at around 50%.  Watching the international obesity trends, you can see how the spread of sedentary lifestyles (more and [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

78% of employers surveyed plan to expand wellness efforts

In the latest survey conducted by the Midwest Business Group on Health, 78% of the employers surveyed indicated that it is more important than ever to keep their workers healthy and motivated to adopt healthy lifestyles.  While there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the latest health care legislation, employers are in agreement that [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Food companies pledge to cut 1.5 trillion calories

By 2015, several of the top food makers in the U.S. have pledged to reduce calorie counts by 1.5 trillion.  The most exciting part of this announcement is that they are targeting portion sizes as one of the primary ways to meet their goal.  It seems that after years of portion sizes creeping upwards, we [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

New community bicycle program to launch in Denver

A new community bicycle program is launching in incentaHEALTH’s backyard in Denver, Colorado.  The program—similar to programs running in several European cities—allows anyone to do a short-term bike rental whenever they need to get around.  This is a great way to make it easy for people to integrate physical activity into their day.
Below is a [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

incentaHEALTH Announces Online Wellness ROI Calculator for Employers

Today we are excited to announce a new tool for employers looking to quantify the reduction in health care costs that can result from a wellness program.
By visiting the “Measurable Results” section of incentaHEALTH.com, employers can enter the number of employees in their company and calculate how much the incentaHEALTH Wellness Program should save in [...]

Read the rest of this entry »