Join the Corporate Wellness Community for further opportunities to pursue executive wellness.

Executives are valuable people. Not just in terms of their skills, experience and management responsibilities, but also in that they are very expensive to replace. An executive grows in value to an organisation with every passing year. Each of those years represents an investment in the executive which is compromised if he or she is unable to perform at his or her best, and is completely lost if he or she suddenly and unexpectedly passes away.

The health of executives is a matter of grave concern to an organisation. Not surprisingly, all major companies subject their senior staff to annual medical "check-ups" in order to preserve their health through timely interventions. The more senior the individual, the more thorough the medical investigations that are required.

This was fine in a bygone era when infectious and other easily treated diseases constituted a significant risk to the health of the executive. The reality today is that an individual in his or her forties, fifties or sixties is far more likely to be afflicted with one or more of the so-called "lifestyle" diseases - cancer, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes mellitus - and clinical research shows quite clearly that "check-ups" do very little to reduce the risk of death and disability from these conditions.

Looking for disease does not reduce the risk of disease. Medical investigations do not constitute a cost-effective response to the threat of lifestyle diseases. The only meaningful programme is one that is specifically designed to reduce risk - and that means reducing the risk factors for disease.

The major risk factors for ill-health among executives are a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, a poor lipid profile, stress, poor nutrition, inadequate sleep, alcohol abuse and late detection of cancer. Experience has shown that these risk factors are unlikely to change as a consequence of annual medical examinations.

The health of all executives has to be promoted. This requires proactive programmes that increase personal responsibility, induce changes in behaviour and provide support and feedback. That is, Wellness Programmes that lead to higher standards of health and well-being for all rather than medical tests to ferret out the few who are in need of treatment.

Executive Wellness Programmes save lives and money through prevention. Prevention is not only better, but cheaper than cure. We all know it; now is the time to do it.

The Executive Wellness Profile

The fundamental difference between a Wellness Profile and a medical profile is the emphasis on reducing risk. The Wellness Profile includes a thorough medical examination to ensure that treatable conditions do not exist (and if they do, appropriate investigations and treatments are arranged). But beyond this, the programme seeks to identify, for the client, those indications of sub-optimal health that are amenable to improvement through his or her personal effort.

The Wellness Profile is a motivational tool that is designed to induce change in behaviour through information and insight. Some individuals are highly resistant to change, but everyone will benefit from a greater understanding of those factors that have a significant influence on health.


Basic Components of an Executive Wellness Profile:

Lifestyle Inventory Nutrition
eating habits, exercise, alcohol, stress, medication, occupational health and safety,
health interests, etc.

Clinical Screening Examination
Including prostate/breast examination and Lung Function Tests

Fitness Assessment
Aerobic capacity, strength, endurance, flexibility, body composition

Screening Blood Tests
Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, blood glucose, creatinine, uric acid, etc.

Personal Wellness Report
Fourteen pages including assessments of coronary risk, cancer risk and health age.
Wellness Learning Guide - eight pages

Wellness Counselling Session
In-depth discussion of the Personal Wellness Report and the formulation of a Personal Action Plan with computerised targets and Wellness Goals

Other Computer Reports:
Stress Report
Weight Management Guide

The Executive Wellness Profile is designed to be as comprehensive as possible for it has been clearly established that a holistic approach is the best way to ensure long-lasting changes in health-related behaviour.


Executive Summary

One of the truisms about behaviour change is that it is more easily accomplished through participation in group activities - including goal setting. Individuals are less likely to resist change if desirable health objectives are set for the group, as opposed to pinpointing personal characteristics that are in need of individual improvement.

The Executive Summary Report discusses the group's various risk factors and how they are contributing to leading causes of death such as heart disease, cancer, accidents, stroke, diabetes and cirrhosis.

The summary recommends up to 11 different health actions which could be implemented to reduce or eliminate the group's risk factors. Health actions are listed in order of need.

Finally, potential savings are presented for various levels of compliance with each health action.

The Executive Group Profile can also be presented in a seminar with overhead projections to foster group discussions and facilitate corporate policy-making.


Follow-up and Progress Reports

While the Executive Wellness Programme is designed to promote the overall health of the senior staff of the organisation, it also serves to identify those individuals who are at high risk and to introduce systematic measures to reduce that risk.

The follow-up programme includes:

• One-to-one guidance
• Small-group workshops
• Classes, special-interest groups and courses:
  • nutrition
  • stress management
  • blood pressure control
  • weight loss
  • diabetes control
  • cancer awareness
  • coronary risk reduction
  • smoking cessation
  • fitness/personal training
  • back strengthening/injury prevention
• Medical referral for:
• high cholesterol
• high blood pressure
• high blood sugar
• signs and symptoms of disease

After a selected interval - three months, six months, one year - another Personal Wellness Profile is completed and a Progress Report is prepared which compares, in graphical form, the present and the previous reports to show where progress has been made and where further effort must be made.