Businesses Help Employees Get Healthy
Written by Andrew-Rossi on January 3, 2018
The obesity rate in Wyoming is improving, but the damage that is done to the health of residents continues to cost money and decrease quality of life.
As of 2016 numbers, the current adult obesity rate in the state is 27.7 percent – that’s up from 16.6 percent in 2000. The state currently ranks 35th in the nation for obesity.
The good news is that those numbers are down slightly from four years ago – in 2014, 29.5 percent of the state’s residents were considered obese. And while the state ranks low compared to the rest of the country in diabetes and hypertension, if the current trend continues, almost 168 thousand people in Wyoming are projected to suffer from heart disease in the next twelve years.
But there are organizations in the Big Horn Basin that are fighting against this trend by promoting healthy habits as we head into the new year. The Big Horn Radio Network is partnering with local businesses such as West Park Hospital, Anytime Fitness and Club Dauntless to launch its annual Losin’ It At Work campaign, which encourages businesses to create teams that will encourage each other and focus on losing weight, with the overall goal of creating better health. That’s according to the Big Horn Radio Network’s Sales Director, Jed Burns.
To register a team for the six-week contest, which will offer prizes for individuals as well as teams, go to mybighornbasin.com and click on the icon for Losin’ It At Work.
