Obliterating Obesity
by: Katherine Lurk, PharmD
THE OBESITY IMPACT
Nothing good comes from obesity. Obesity needs to be obliterated. Obesity is a chronic and progressive condition severely compounded by the pandemic and now affects over 40% of U.S. adults. It is a growing source of workplace risk, contributing to higher workplace accidents, higher healthcare costs, increased chronic conditions, musculoskeletal problems, absenteeism, lost productivity, and increased morbidity and mortality. A growing body of research shows that people with obesity are at greater risk of suffering from severe COVID-19 complications and hospitalization. Critical for consideration in the workplace, new data demonstrates that for individuals under the age of 65, the bulk of the workforce, obesity is the most common underlying condition in COVID-19-associated hospitalization, more common than hypertension, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. According to the American Psychological Association, 42% of Americans have gained an average of 29 pounds since the beginning of the pandemic. The pandemic has not only spiked the obesity rates in our country, but this increase has also created a future tsunami of subsequent diseases, such as new-onset diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, musculoskeletal conditions, and multiple cancers.
A growing body of research shows that people with obesity are at greater risk of suffering from severe COVID-19 complications and hospitalization.
In addition to the physical impacts associated with excess weight, obesity is both a cause and a result of mental health struggles. Mental well-being has become front and center amidst the ongoing pandemic, a time of intense isolation, illness, and fear. With or without the pandemic, stress is predominant, even prompting the body to store more fat and making it harder to lose weight. Another factor intermingled with the mental consequences of obesity is stigma. Individuals with obesity feel shame and judgment due to the belief that they are a failure; a view held by themselves and others. This stigma often prevents engagement in weight loss programs because individuals are afraid to ‘fail’ again and fear what others think.
TIME FOR CHANGE
2022 is the time to understand and affect the negative impact obesity is having in your organization, workforce, and surrounding communities. Now is the time to implement meaningful solutions to slow the progression of continued weight gain, promote weight loss, optimize the management of chronic disease, and improve the health and lives of your most valuable asset, your employees. While individuals must take responsibility for their lifestyle choices, it is critical that employers provide solutions that will help employees and mitigate risk in their populations. Effective solutions for obesity must include a multi-modal and comprehensive approach that enables success for all individuals, including those who are less motivated. Organizations have an understanding that the most effective interventions provide behavioral help for individuals to change eating patterns and become more physically active. Motivated individuals may be sparked to focus on their health through workplace wellness challenges, financial incentives, activity and step trackers, online videos and activities, and digital apps.
While these tools may be helpful for some, they tend to insufficiently engage and lack outcomes for the higher-risk obese population, the ones with lower motivation to change, many comorbidities, poor mental health, and frail hope. These individuals need something more, something different, and something deeper, to understand the roots of their struggle and to make sustained changes in their health.
Now is the time to implement meaningful solutions to slow the progression of continued weight gain, promote weight loss, optimize the management of chronic disease, and improve the health and lives of your most valuable asset, your employees.
THE TRESTLETREE APPROACH
For over 20 years, TrestleTree’s holistic approach has proven to be highly effective at improving health and lowering costs in the most challenging populations. TrestleTree exists to deliver accessible hope and achievable health to those who need it most, the ones who struggle to change on their own and have given up on themselves. With intense training by Ph.D. Psychologists and a proven model based on the art and science of behavior change, TrestleTree Health Coaches help people change within the nuances and unique context of their health and life. TrestleTree’s expertise is creating sustainable behavior change across the continuum of risk, especially for those with low motivation. TrestleTree drives ongoing engagement and strong clinical outcomes and has independent return on investment (ROI) studies demonstrating up to a 3:1 ROI.
With a whole-person approach, TrestleTree Health Coaches work with individuals to develop strategies toward weight loss in parallel with improving associated chronic metabolic disease and other health conditions, musculoskeletal pain, stress, sleep, and tobacco use. TrestleTree’s foundation is built upon developing relationships of trust and earning the right to influence. Health Coaches establish connections with individuals through listening without judgment, drawing out their story to deepen understanding, and using empathy to create an open dialogue with bi-directional influence. Interventions are dynamic and uniquely tailored for each person based on their health story, life story (e.g., culture, family, finances, occupation), and motivation to change. TrestleTree also trains healthcare professionals to elicit, understand, embrace, and incorporate the messiness of life into the behavior change process. With this focus, TrestleTree Health Coaches are able to better understand individuals, identify causes for their stress, and develop and implement stress management techniques and coping strategies. TrestleTree understands the influence stress has on health, and by focusing on the whole person, obesity, stress, and other conditions are tackled simultaneously.
TrestleTree exists to deliver accessible hope and achievable health to those who need it most, the ones who struggle to change on their own and have given up on themselves.
Obesity is a complex condition and demands a comprehensive approach to reduce the physical, mental health, and financial consequences. TrestleTree knows that emphasizing focus on weight management will have profound effects on the downstream outcomes, including high-cost disease, work-related injuries, chronic pain management, and even opioid use. TrestleTree’s team of highly skilled and trained healthcare professionals drives increased engagement and positive behavior change to achieve lifelong results, including for less motivated individuals that other programs find difficult to reach.
With decades of rich history and experience, TrestleTree is committed and well-equipped to partner with employers, health systems, and occupational medicine clinics to extend and deepen their reach, presence, and impact, as well as support the transition to total personal health (TPH). TrestleTree is excited and motivated to develop partnerships with your organization, build this expertise into the workings of occupational medicine, and extend your value and impact. TrestleTree stands ready to collaborate and transition to total person health for the betterment of health and wellness in your thriving organizations.
With decades of rich history and experience, TrestleTree is committed and well-equipped to partner with employers, health systems, and occupational medicine clinics to extend and deepen their reach, presence, and impact, as well as support the transition to total person health (TPH).
