Set The Pace For A Healthy Workplace 2009

Six years ago the Global Corporate Challenge® (GCC) set
out to tackle the alarming increase in chronic illness
directly linked to the sedentary lives of our corporate
workforce. Shane Bilsborough, GCC Director and
nutritionist, shares his experience on the initiative that is
not only saving lives but also making businesses more
productive and profitable.

Now, more than ever, organizations need
to care for current employees and display
best practice health and wellbeing
initiatives. This means taking an active
role in their wellbeing. If bubonic plague
was spreading through the corporate
world, how quickly would we act to stop
it? So why would we sit on our hands for
the “epidemic” of obesity?

Being overweight is one thing, but the
bigger problem is the chronic illnesses
that result from inactivity…..

What are the consequences?
Physical inactivity places you at a greater
risk of developing over 25 chronic
diseases including cardiovascular disease,
Type II diabetes, obesity, cancer and costs
businesses directly and indirectly, through lost productivity and absenteeism.

Corporate health doesn’t need to be
hard, in fact it can be fun.
When we developed the GCC the
premise was pretty simple - encourage
and support participants to increase their
daily activity levels, by simply taking more
steps in a day while having a bit of fun.
If you’re not familiar with the program,
participants form teams of seven, they
are given a pack that includes a GCC
pedometer, and each day they record
their step count on the GCC website.
The website converts the steps to
distance, and takes participants on a
virtual tour of the world, (the more active
you are, the further you go). During their
travels, participants interact ‘virtually’
with each location, its customs, facts,
foods, politics and famous locals. Exercise
becomes fun and the desire to travel
further, and discover more, is one of the
great motivators for sustained effort.

Corporate health doesn’t need to be
complicated.
At the GCC we follow the World
Health Organization recommendation of aiming for 10,000 steps per day, (this equates to 4 miles). Participants who have maintained this target have averaged 11 lb weight loss and a 2 inch waist reduction in men and 13 lbs and 3 inches for women**.

While the external improvement is
fantastic, the most important health
benefit is the body’s internal wellbeing.
The event averages a 32.8%
decrease risk in women and a 23.3%
decrease in men from Type II
diabetes - all as a result of just putting
one foot in front of the other and
walking. That is why we developed the GCC,
a walking based event. It’s accessible to
everyone

The financial benefits of a healthy staff.
Interestingly, it is not only the benefit that
companies have reported from greater
teamwork, communication, “corporate
mood’”(physical health and mental health
go hand in hand), and the fostering of a
positive work environment and culture; it’s
the boost to the bottom line. Healthy
employees are 3 times more productive
and take 9 times less sick days*.

See for yourself.
The GCC is here to help you, and your
Organization, on the road to a healthy
workplace in 2009.

Visit www.gettheworldmoving.com
or call us at (503) 691-7000

* Medibank Private - The Health of
Australia’s workforce (absenteeism
research 2005 & 2007)
** 2006 GCC medical health study



Medical Research
Each year the GCC funds vital clinical research into afflictions including heart disease and diabetes. This study is carried out by the Heart Disease and Diabetes Prevention Centre (HDDP).
HDDP is a coalition of some of the worlds' foremost independent scientific authorities and leading nutritionists - experts on the links between diet, physical activity and disease risk.
This coalition's mission is to reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, with a particular focus on highly skilled, time-poor corporate workers who are typically most insulated from and immune to health messages.
In 2008/2009, the HDDP, in partnership with Monash University, is conducting world first research on low-impact physical activity interventions in the workplace.

The Footprint Initiative®
The Footprint Initiative® is an important program of the GCC that educates and supports participants to make a ‘global difference’ through their GCC participation. From helping communities survive crisis brought about by poverty, war, famine, and disease, to reducing our individual environmental impact through carbon abatement and lifestyle choices. The Footprint Initiative® promotes personal, as well as organizational and global responsibility.



Our website, well - it's a “must see”!
Visit us at www.gettheworldmoving.com