According to Businesswire News, the study is from Naturally Slim, a company that provides digital counseling programs within the employer-sponsored space that takes a skills-based approach to teach participants how to change when and how they eat. It is titled “A Retrospective Analysis of Employee Education Level on Weight Loss Following Participation in an Online, Corporately Sponsored, Weight Loss Program.”
“While historical studies show that education levels have an impact on certain aspects of overall well being and holistic health, our study’s findings reinforce that delivering an internet-based curriculum to the workplace can have impressive weight loss results for participants, regardless of education strata,” Dr. Tim Church, chief medical officer of Naturally Slim and co-author of the study, said. “Employers have the important role of ensuring all employees are healthy and happy, and this study shows integrating online, behaviorally-focused weight management programs into their benefits portfolios can positively impact their entire population.”
Previous studies have shown a correlation with people from lower levels of education and higher rates of obesity.
By contrast, modern corporate-sponsored weight management programs are more inclusive and utilize technology such as smart phones and AI assistants to increase access to medical education for people of all education levels.
According to the study, the most effective factor that contributes to a participant’s success is program attendance. The study shows that participants that attend seven or less classes lost significantly less weight than those who attended eight or more classes, regardless of the participant’s education level. Participants that attended eight or more classes were also more likely to lose a “clinically beneficial” (3-5%) or “clinically significant” (6% or more) amount of weight, regardless of the participant’s education level.
Online based behaviorally oriented, commercialized weight loss programs, such as Naturally Slim, have been proven to be effective and is a valuable resource for employers looking to provide employees with tools to achieve healthy lifestyles while also reducing health care claims costs for the company.
Employers interested in learning more about Naturally Slim can obtain more information here.
