The Effectiveness of a Worksite Lifestyle Intervention Program on High-Risk Individuals as Potential Candidates for Bariatric Surgery: My Unlimited Potential (MyUP).

This is a single-arm, pre and post effectiveness study that evaluated the impact of a comprehensive workplace lifestyle program on severe obesity among high cardiovascular disease risk individuals in a large, diverse employee population. Employees of Baptist Health South Florida were considered eligible to participate if they had 2 or more of the following cardiometabolic risk factors: total cholesterol ≥200 mg/dL, systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg, hemoglobin A1c ≥6.5%, body mass index ≥30kg/m(2). Participants received a personalized diet plan and physical activity intervention, and were followed for 1 year. Data on anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, blood glucose, and other biochemical measures were collected. Participants' body mass index was calculated and their eligibility for bariatric surgery (BS) also assessed. A total of 297 persons participated in the program; 160 participants completed all procedures through 12 months of follow-up. At baseline, 34% (n = 100) of all participants were eligible for BS. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 27% (n = 27) of BS eligible participants at baseline became ineligible after 12 months. Considering program completers only, 46% of BS eligible participants at baseline became ineligible. Irrespective of BS eligibility at 12 months, mean values of cardiometabolic risk factors among program completers improved after the follow-up period. Workplace wellness programs provide an important option for weight loss that can obviate the need for BS, reduce cardiovascular disease risk, and potentially reduce costs. However, in designing future worksite lifestyle interventions, measures should be taken to improve participation and retention rates in such programs.

One-year outcomes of an intense workplace cardio-metabolic risk reduction program among high-risk employees: The My Unlimited Potential.

OBJECTIVE: This study details 6- and 12-month cardio-metabolic outcomes of an intense 12-week workplace lifestyle intervention program, the My Unlimited Potential (MyUP), conducted in a large healthcare organization. METHODS: This study was conducted among 230 employees of Baptist Health South Florida with high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Employees were considered at high risk and eligible for the study if they had two or more of the following cardio-metabolic risk factors: total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dl, systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg, hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) ≥ 6.5%, body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2) . RESULTS: At the end of 12 weeks, there was significant reduction in the mean BMI, SBP and DBP, serum lipids, and HbA1c among persons with diabetes. At 1 year, there was significant decline in the mean BMI, SBP and DBP, HbA1c, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and in the prevalence of poor BP control, BMI ≥ 35 kg/m(2) , and abnormal HbA1c among all persons and those with diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: This intensive 12-week lifestyle change program was successful at improving cardio-metabolic risk factors at 1 year. This study provides a template for other workplace programs aimed at improving CVD risk in high-risk employees.