Health and Wellness at Work
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Jessica Empestan has struggled with her weight for much of her life and has a family history of obesity and the associated complications. |
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Jessica Empestan has struggled with her weight for much of her life and has a family history of obesity and the associated complications. |
Jessica Empestan has struggled with her weight for much of her life and has a family history of obesity and the associated complications.
“I started as the chubby kid, and every year put on a few more pounds and became the curvaceous college student and the overweight young lawyer,” says Jessica, Senior Counsel, Regulatory Law, Johnson & Johnson. “The combination of my own growing obesity and my family history presented a challenge to me.”
A wellness and prevention program offered to Johnson & Johnson employees changed the way Jessica lives her life. “I received an email that went out to Johnson & Johnson employees asking ‘have you had difficulty controlling your weight, do you have health issues and are you interested in doing something about it?’”
Jessica participated in a Corporate Athlete Course® at the Human Performance Institute™ in Orlando, Florida. There she learned about tools and tactics to lose weight, get fit, and be more productive and engaged, both professionally and personally.
“If I don’t take control of my health I’m going to lose my control over everything else. I’m not going to be the best daughter or wife I can be, and certainly not the best attorney I can be,” says Jessica.
Seeing Sustainable Changes in Health
More than two-thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese. People who are overweight or obese are at a greater risk for developing diabetes, stroke, hypertension, high cholesterol and certain types of cancers. The direct and indirect cost of obesity-associated conditions in the U.S. is estimated at nearly $80 billion a year.
For decades, Johnson & Johnson has encouraged employees to stay healthy and provided the tools and assistance to help them accomplish this. “The employee has to want to see sustainable changes. If they have that type of commitment, Johnson & Johnson wants to help them succeed,” says Efrem Dlugacz, Vice President, Corporate Benefits, Johnson & Johnson.
Our focus on health and wellness among our U.S. workforce has helped reduce per-capita health-plan costs by $400 per employee per year (based on 2007 data) and significantly improved overall employee health and productivity. “The rate of heart disease at Johnson & Johnson is 41 percent below national standards, and the rate of high blood pressure is 75 percent below national standards,” says Efrem.
The two and a half day Corporate Athlete Course® is one of several wellness and prevention programs available to employees. Grounded in the sciences of performance psychology, exercise physiology and nutrition, it teaches employees to manage and maximize their energy so they can perform their best.
“During the course, I learned how to really make sustainable changes,” says Jessica. “Coming back to work, I have the support of the wellness and prevention team at Johnson & Johnson. I work out regularly at the on-site gym and with a personal trainer, which has been phenomenal. I’m training for a 5k, so I’m doing a lot of running, weight lifting and strength training.”
Since beginning the program in summer 2009, Jessica has lost approximately 8 inches around her waist and has cut her visceral body fat in half. Of her success, Jessica says, “I know I am empowered to make whatever changes I want in my health and in my future. It’s a pretty amazing feeling.”
Learn more:
Human Performance Institute™
Our Citizenship: Wellness, Prevention & Health Education
Read more about Wellness & Prevention at Johnson & Johnson on our corporate blog, JNJBTW
Watch this videos and others on the JNJ health channel on YouTube®