How Colorado Is Getting Its State Employees to Lose Weight
The State of Slim pilot program has helped participants lose an average of 8.59 percent of their body weight. Anschutz Health and Wellness Center / YouTube
Participants in the ‘State of Slim’ pilot program have lost an average of 8.59% of their body weight.
Colorado is already known as a very fit state in terms of the health and wellness of its residents. One survey late last year declared the Centennial State as the least obese in the nation.
But what about Colorado’s state workers?
The 16-week State of Slim pilot program, offered by the the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center through the State of Colorado Employee Wellness Program, has been showing great results for the first group of participants, which overall has lost a total of 282.1 pounds.
Some state employees who have participated have lost as much as 34 pounds.
On average, participants have lost 8.59 percent of their body weight.
According to an announcement from the Colorado Division of Human Resources and the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center:
All interested employees completed a voluntary application and signed a commitment to the State of Slim expectations. CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center experts selected 20 employees for the program based on the center’s criteria and participants’ level of readiness.
The employees met with a State of Slim transformation coach for 16 weeks of curriculum-based, face-to-face group sessions. To promote engagement, employees paid a small fee, and if employees met the expectations and promises for the program they earned their contribution back.
In terms of weight loss, the program teaches employees how to get outside their comfort zone and have the right mindset and motivation to transform themselves. Unlike typical weight loss programs, State of Slim teaches participants not only how to get the weight off, but how to keep it off.
What’s next for the State of Slim beyond its successful pilot? The state government plans to offer the program to additional departments in phases.
“State of Slim is an innovative and exciting way to get State employees to make healthy choices a part of their everyday life,” Beth Soberg, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Colorado said in a statement. UnitedHealthcare of Colorado paid for the program’s first phase.
Watch how the program works: