Benefits Of Gym

By Author: Rahul pal
Total Articles: 3
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Fitness Lowers Healthcare Costs

It's a fact: healthy employees cost less than unhealthy employees. Recent studies by the University of Michigan, for instance, show that employers who emphasize fitness can save an average of: $1,100 a year for every employee who stops smoking, $1,200 a year on employees who lower their cholesterol levels from 240 mg to 190 mg and $177 a year for each worker who sheds enough pounds to move from obesity (more than 30 pounds overweight) to a healthy weight.

Healthcare industry experts estimate that between 70 to 90 percent of healthcare spending is caused by problems associated with unhealthy lifestyle choices that can lead to chronic diseases. These lifestyle choices -- whether they are improper nutrition, too little exercise or smoking - cost American businesses more than one trillion dollars in lost productivity each year.
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Less Absenteeism
It makes sense that healthier workers miss fewer days of work. For example, within six years after creating an employee health and well-being department, the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, reported that lost ...
... work days had declined by 80 percent and modified-duty days by 64 percent. When calculated by multiplying the reduction in lost work days by average pay rates the Center's cost savings totaled $1.5 million.
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Fitness Creates Less Stress
Workplace wellness programs educate employees on how to feel better on the job, both mentally and physically. With many workers today spending much of their workday sitting at a computer screen, neck, back and wrist and arm fatigue are major contributors to workplace stress and fatigue. In addition, many employees report eye strain from looking at a screen for so many hours.

Twenty-first century corporate fitness programs offer exercises for desk-bound workers and give tips for proper ergonomics to reduce stress and muscle strain when you are on the job. Advice includes everything from simple stretching exercises to scheduled workouts to break up the monotony.

According to the February 2011 issue of Harvard Men's Health Watch, exercise has the ability to both exhilarate and to relax and can serve to counter depression and to dissipate stress. Clinical results also have shown that workers sleep better after exercise and are able to lower both their cholesterol and blood pressure levels by following a regular exercise plan.
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Fitness Encourages Better Work Performance
Research is showing that companies who have a corporate fitness program retain their employees longer than other companies. A study conducted by the National Business Group on Health and the Towers Watson organization shows that firms with wellness programs report lower voluntary attrition than do those without them.

One example is the Biltmore tourism organization, which reported a decrease in employee turnover rate from 19 percent in 2005 to 9 percent in 2009 after starting an employee wellness program. Employees appreciate the efforts.