Questar III Wellness Committee “Lose to Win” team captains.
The Wellness Committee successfully completed its first “Lose to Win” Challenge.
The 70 participants, made up of eight participating teams, had a combined total weight loss of 449.2 pounds. The winning team, Team Ate, lost 4.41 percent of their total beginning weight. For losing the most weight, each of the nine team members received gym bags from Blue Shield of Northeastern New York which included a pedometer, water bottle and elastic exercise bands.
The seven week challenge encouraged an organizational-wide, friendly competition with a focus on balancing life’s demands with a healthy lifestyle and weight.
During the challenge, interactive workshops on fitness and nutrition were presented at three of our Questar III sites. Each participant in the weight loss challenge also received a weekly e-mail with healthy living tips and was given a reusable cloth bag for groceries from BlueShield of Northeastern New York.
Joshua Reh, a member of the Wellness Committee and a Pound Crushers team member, said he was pleased with the success of the pilot program and is looking forward to the next challenge which will begin in January.
“I was pleasantly surprised with the participation for our pilot Lose to Win program. I expect an even greater number of teams and participants for our January program. Participation in the program will most definitely lead to healthier lifestyles for many of our Questar III staff,” said Reh.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and weight is not only beneficial for an individual’s overall health, but it also provides cost-saving benefits to Questar III as well as its employees.
As Harry Hadjioannou, CPA, assistant superintendent for business and financial services explains, a healthier workforce means increased productivity and a decreased level of absenteeism. It also means a lower insurance premium.
“Insurance premiums are calculated based on the claim history of the group,” said Hadjioannou. “Fewer claims, means a lower premium, and since employees pay a percentage of that premium, it’s less money out of their pockets as well.”
According to Hadjioannou, who manages the Rensselaer-Columbia-Greene Health Insurance Trust for Questar III and 23 school districts, obesity is the number one indirect cause to claims because it can trigger issues such as diabetes and hyper-tension. Wellness programs like the “Lose to Win” challenge serve as preventative measures that benefit everyone involved.
The Wellness Committee would like to thank the following companies and individuals for their generous donations of prizes for the “Lose to Win” Challenge:
- Albany Massage Professions (John Tubbs): (2) 30-minute gift certificates.
- Field Goods Inc. (Donna Williams): (3) bags of produce.
- GASB-45: (6) salad containers.
- Planet Fitness in Hudson: (4) one-month gym passes.
- Best Fitness in Albany (Brady Freund): donation of gym passes.
- Domestic Divas Cleaning Service (Joann Drost): House Cleaning Gift Certificate.
- BlueShield NENY: Grand Prize of iPod Shuffle, nine gym bags with fitness. goodies, and a cloth grocery bag for each participant in the challenge.
