the secret wellness motivator:

friends & family

contentsHow Positive and Negative Support Impacts Our Wellness Goals ...........…….3

Health Starts at Home .....................................................................................................5

Getting Personal: Success on the Road to Change ...............................................6

Extending Corporate Wellness Beyond the Office .................................................7

Enable Broader Support to Foster Engagement and Results ..............................7

2 the secret wellness motivator: friends & family

1 Christakis, N., Fowler, J. The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years, New England Journal of Medicine, 2007.2 Darlow, S., Xu, X. The Influence of Close Others’ Exercise Habits and Perceived Social Support on Exercise, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2011.

the exercise habits of people you know have a positive influence on your own fitness routine.

how positive and negative support impacts our wellness goalsIf you’re like most people, you’ve tried several times to start a regular exercise program or make

significant changes in your diet. For various reasons, however, you’ve faltered after weeks or months,

and have been frustrated with your ability stay the course. If this sounds familiar, ask yourself: did you

have the support of a spouse, partner, other family member or friend on your wellness journey? If not, it

could help explain why it was difficult to sustain that initial enthusiasm to positively change your life.

There is both bad and good news when it comes to

achieving health and wellness goals. The bad news: it is

not easy for many people. The good news: there are ways

to increase the odds of success. A growing body of research

shows that people with a social support network, whether

family, friends or an organized group, tend to achieve better

health outcomes.

Family members, in particular, may be especially important

to sustaining health and lifestyle goals. At the same time,

definitions of what constitutes a modern family have been

changing in America, moving beyond traditional definitions

of people related by birth or by marriage who share the

same household. Today’s definition of family includes a

greater array of living arrangements, a broader group of

people and larger combinations of people as families.

We’ve all known since childhood the power of peer

influence. We do what our friends and family do. For

example, if your best friend always drags you to the pizza

joint when you dine out, you’re far more likely to indulge in

a cheese-laden, carbohydrate-heavy meal than the spinach

salad with low-calorie dressing that you originally had in

mind. Likewise, if your gym partner tends to lose interest

after 20 minutes on the treadmill, it can derail your efforts

to stick to your exercise goals, some research has found.

Consider this example: a recent study found that people

with an obese friend had a whopping 57% greater chance of

becoming obese themselves. When someone had

a close friend who became overweight, he or she had a

171% greater chance of following suit.1

This is the negative peer influence. Fortunately, there is a

bright side. Studies show that social support is a critical

component to staying motivated and engaged in your

health goals. A 2011 study published in Psychology of Sport

and Exercise found that the exercise habits of people you

know have a positive influence on your own fitness routine.2

WHY IT MATTERS Having a support system may be

the most important success factor there is.

friend became obese

greater chance of becoming

obese himself

57%

3

GOING ALONE VS. GOING TOGETHER

3 Wallace, JP., Raglin, JS., Jastremski, CA. Twelve Month Adherence of Adults Who Joined a Fitness Program with a Spouse vs Without a Spouse. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 1995.

how positive and negative support impacts our wellness goalsResearch found that married couples who joined

health clubs together but worked out separately had a

43% dropout rate during the course of a year. By contrast,

those who went to the gym together, regardless of whether

they followed a similar exercise routine while at the gym,

had a miniscule 6.3% dropout rate.3

Having that external support, especially when it comes

from family, can be a crucial factor in making–or breaking–

your healthy future, as well as influencing the habits of

future generations.

“Health and fitness and how we eat has become part

of our lives, because of our kids,” First Lady Michelle

Obama has been quoted as saying about her family’s

wellness efforts. “We are their primary role models.

And if [my girls] see me exercising and thinking about

what I’m eating, if they see their father, as busy as he

is, getting to the gym and playing sports, when they

grow up they’ll understand that this is a natural part

of being an adult.”

dropout rate during the course of a year

6.3%

GYM

dropout rate during the course of a year

43%

GYM GYM

4 the secret wellness motivator: friends & family

health starts at homeBack in the 1960s, the well-known phrase “You Are What You Eat” became

popular in the United States. Today, it should be modified to say “You Are What

You Eat at Home.” Many health experts agree that eating and wellness habits

begin when people are young—and these behaviors are heavily influenced in the

home. When poor diet and nutrition habits begin early, they can be difficult to

change and the impact can last for generations.

There’s perhaps no clearer evidence of this than the obesity epidemic in the

United States. The statistics have become all too familiar: More than one-third of

U.S. adults and about 17% of children ages 2 to 19 are obese, according to the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The estimated annual medical

cost of obesity in the United States is $147 billion, according to the CDC.4

Jamie Oliver, the British chef and creator of

the television show “Food Revolution,” has

been a leading advocate for the value of

changing eating habits among children. While

a lot of his efforts have focused on improving

the nutritional value of meals served in school

cafeterias, Oliver points out that good—or

poor—nutrition for children begins at home.

The diminishment of cooking skills and the

abundant availability of processed foods helps

build poor health habits even before students

step into school. In the United Kingdom, Oliver

has developed a home cooking skills class

for high school students that teach children

the practical skills and fundamental food

knowledge that they may not get at home.

He also stresses the importance of parents

taking the time educate their children about

fruits and vegetables.

Beyond the benefits of increased diet and

nutrition, studies show that families who

more frequently gather to eat meals together

have stronger relationships with one another.

In addition, these children receive better

grades in school and become better adjusted

as teenagers.5

To be sure, not everyone can count on family

or close friends for support toward their health

goals. These people may have to find their

positive support network elsewhere.

4 Overweight and Obesity, Facts. Centers for Disease Control and Protection, 2014.5 Family Mealtimes – Making it a Priority. Rutgers University, 2009.

studies show that children whose families frequently eat meals together receive better grades in school and become better adjusted as teenagers.

5

getting personal: success on the road to change People naturally crave community and social interaction, and it makes

sense that this instinct would have an impact on health and wellness.

There’s no need to go it alone. With the addition of a network or

community comprised of others striving for the same or similar goals,

you’re setting yourself up for success.

But don’t take our word for it. Meet Marcie, the mother of two children

who decided to alter her eating habits.

PROFILE: No meat, no dairy, no problem.

SITUATION: Marcie made the decision to go vegan, but her family members resisted

the change.

FINDING SUPPORT: After Marcie made her decision to pursue a vegan diet, she soon

learned that she could not count on support from her family, as they were not thrilled

about joining her on this dietary journey. Fortunately, Marcie’s employer provides a

network for support that enables online interaction with others who are pursuing similar

wellness goals. She found groups or “challenges” created specifically for vegans and

learned tips and gained the motivation to stick to a strict diet regimen, even in difficult

circumstances. Marcie found a support network and interactive community that she can

access both online and from her smartphone. She credits this support network with being

able to more smoothly make the transition to veganism.

OUTCOME: To this day Marcie remains happily vegan, and continues to lean on her

network of support that she found through the online community. She now shares her

learnings with others.

+ =

vegan

how others are leveraging support to achieve their own success:

“Encouragement

from coaches and

friends helped me

achieve my goals.”

– Patches

“Loved what the

challenges do for

my family. Family

home-cooked meals

and game night :)”

– KimLaRue

“I did a 5k this year

with my girls and it

inspired them to do

another one. We had

never participated in

one before. Thanks for

inspiring our family!”

– Gramie5

“My husband started

running with me —

an awesome feat since

he hasn’t exercised

in years — he’s a great

buddy and keeps

me going.”

– TerriT

6 the secret wellness motivator: friends & family

extending corporate wellness beyond the officeIn recent years, an increasing number of employers have concentrated on

health and wellness programs, with a particular focus on how to better engage

workers to not only participate in these programs but to sustain their involvement.

Employers are concerned about workers who spend too many hours chained to

their desks and generally don’t take good care of themselves. Stress from long

work hours or factors outside the office heightens health risks and unhealthy

workers are less productive and engaged, leading to higher health care costs,

experts say.

Increasingly, employers are looking for what

components comprise a successful corporate

wellness program, such as:

A supportive community made up of

coworkers, friends and family who are

focused on aligned interests and goals,

driving motivation, encouragement and

information sharing

Creative and fun ways to engage

employees, such as custom-designed

personal or group challenges to spark

healthy competition and further motivate

users to attain goals

The promotion of accountability and

self-efficacy, leading to lasting behavior

changes and an increase in self-esteem

recognized by others in the community

Incentive programs that offer a blend of

tangible and non-tangible, financial and

non-financial benefits for goals reached

and challenges won

Traditionally, many employers have offered a

fixed set of wellness benefits for employees,

such as onsite exercise classes, discounted

gym memberships, and access to nutritional

information or classes intended to alter

poor habits, such as smoking cessation or

managing high-blood pressure. Often,

employees viewed these programs as

insufficiently tailored to meet their individual

needs or as more punitive in their intent.

Now, employers are finding programs that

enable employees to customize their own

health and wellness activities help lead to

empowerment and sustained engagement.

An important way of customizing wellness

programs and creating engagement is

extending the benefits beyond coworkers

and the workplace. Wellness does not end

at five o’clock. As mentioned above, support

systems are the most critical factor to

success and research supports the idea that

more flexible and individualized wellness

programs are more effective if their use is

extended to family and friends. A new study

from the Health Enhancement Research

Organization and Mercer found that

employers who offered corporate health

programs that included employees’ spouses

achieved twice the amount of employee

participation, compared to similar programs

that didn’t include spouses.6

6 Health Management Programs More Successful When Spouses Are Included. Health Enhancement Research Organization and Mercer, 2013.7 Numerof, R., Abrams, M. Healthcare at a Turning Point: A Roadmap for Change, 2012.

+

employee participation

rates

2Xemployee partner

enable broader support to foster engagement and results

Enabling a wider network

of support that includes

family and friends in

addition to coworkers

increases the likelihood

that employees will be

motivated to become

healthier individuals.

For employers, a high

cost to decreased

productivity and

absenteeism is associated

with unhealthy workers.

These costs are estimated

at roughly $13,000

per hourly employee

per year,7 data that

strengthens the case

for implementing

an effective corporate

wellness program.

The most successful

corporate wellness

programs offer the

ability to create an

effective support system

and facilitate positive

interaction among family,

friends and other

supporters focused on

similar goals. Driving

healthy lifestyle change

doesn’t have to be

boring–it can be fun,

interactive and can help

bring you even closer to

your friends and family.

7

hubbub is a technology-driven wellness solution that uses social circles, the love of the game, a turnkey incentive engine, and the quickest health quiz on the planet to inspire employees to get moving and live healthy.

for more information, go to hubbubhealth.com/employers

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Printed on recycled paper for a healthier planet.

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