Obesity is a nationwide epidemic.  Type II Diabetes is rampant among our children.  According to the CDC, 1 in 3 children born in the United States will become diabetic.  A smart company knows it’s not enough to focus on the individual employee; we need to empower them to take what they learn about wellness at work home to their families.  There are some meaningful changes that will make tremendous improvements in the culture of health in your employees’ homes:

• Taking a family walk after dinner is wonderful family time, providing exercise as well as time to bond.
• Teaching your family how to read a nutritional label is information that will last a lifetime. 
• Cleaning out the freezer and eliminating the sodium-laden frozen foods is an educational project for the whole family. 
• Stocking the fridge with cut fruits, hummus, and minimally processed foods are much better than what grocery stores and restaurants label “kid” and “family” food. 
• Homemade whole grain pizza and pasta are fun and not very time consuming meals. 
• A whole birthday party can be built around making tacos with whole grain shells, veggies, low fat cheese and beans. 

There are numerous wellness resources that you can/will/already do provide for your employees in order to educate about and encourage the types of actions mentioned above. If there are on-site wellness professionals available, encourage them to seek them out. If your company has an on-line wellness portal, create incentives for your employees to explore it. For those that participate in the health insurance plan, leverage the resources available for information on healthy behaviors from your carrier. The possibilities are endless, and so are the rewards.