The Kingsford event also gives participants a chance to win two free gym memberships. All three events will be conducting the Rockport Walking Test to evaluate employees' fitness levels. With over 34.5 percent of Michigan's adult population overweight, promoting health at work makes sense. Recent obesity rankings published by the Journal of the American Medical Association list Michigan as tied for fourth with Alabama and Alaska as the most obese state in the country. West Virginia, Mississippi and Louisiana topped the list.
Employers are quickly able to recognize the benefits of promoting health in the workplace.
Employers then benefit from increased productivity, improved relations with employees, reduced absenteeism, reduced employee turnover, reduced workers' compensation claims, improved control of insurance rates, and reduced health care costs. The Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and the Michigan Fitness Foundation are working in innovative ways to make systematic change, reverse the trend toward sedentary living, and positively affect many risk factors for serious health problems. Regular physical activity enhances health by improving bone density and blood sugar levels and by reducing high blood pressure and obesity. Regular physical activity also has been shown to be protective against heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and can help reduce stress.