Employees from South Somerset District Council, Screwfix and Yarlington Housing Group shed more than 560lbs in weight for the most successful Workplace Weightloss Challenge to date.
The Challenge, which is run by the Healthy Lifestyles team at South Somerset District Council, encourages employees to join teams of three to five people and sign up to lose weight sensibly over a 6 week period.
Each week the teams are weighed and receive advice and resources on weight loss and how to live a healthier lifestyle.
Charlie Coward, Healthy Lifestyles Officer at South Somerset District Council organised the challenge and was delighted with the response. Charlie said, “This year we had more than 130 employees taking part. The Weightloss Challenge forms part of our Healthy Workplace programme which also includes Health ‘MOT’s’, rounders tournaments, weekly pilates sessions and general health and fitness advice.
“A healthier workplace has numerous benefits including reduced absenteeism, improved staff retention and increased productivity. It is estimated that the average cost of employee absence to UK businesses is around £500 per employee per year.”
Winners from each team received an organic fruit and veg box from the Trading Post in Lopen, a goody bag and monthly memberships from Preston Sports Centre in Yeovil.
Gemma Stevenson from Yarlington Housing Group commented, “The Weightloss Challenge was a great opportunity for Yarlington employees to focus on getting fit and losing those few extra pounds that had creeped on over the Christmas period.
“The weekly weigh in and health tips we received kept everyone motivated. Those taking part looked forward to seeing the team results each week and finding out who had won the fruit basket! Some of the teams were so motivated by seeing the weight fall off that once the 6 week competition finished we extended the challenge and continued with additional weigh in’s until just before Easter.”
Cllr Sylvia Seal, portfolio holder for Leisure and Culture at South Somerset District Council added, “We know that in these difficult times, businesses can’t spend a fortune on health benefits for their staff. Our Healthy Workplace programme aims to create an innovative low cost way of introducing workplaces into healthy living and more active lifestyles.”