Fitness Incentive

Good for Gov. John Baldacci for wanting Mainers to get in shape. With skyrocketing health insurance costs and thousands of Mainers suffering from preventable ailments caused or made worse by a lack of physical activity, fitness should be a top priority. It will take a lot more than a walk through a capitol park or handing out pedometers to get flabby Mainers into condition, however. It will take a lot more than prodding from state government, too.

It will take a recognition from those who are overweight and inactive that they must change their lifestyle. Incentives from employers and insurance companies can help this awareness.

Employees at Mathews Bros., a cabinet company based in Belfast, for example, have lost half a ton of weight in the two years since the business introduced a wellness program. The company encourages employees to eat healthy and to exercise 30 minutes three times a week. But, most importantly, it went well beyond encouragement to financial enticement. The company, like many, pays a percent of each employee’s health insurance premium. Employees who meet wellness goals earn “points” toward having the company pay 100 percent of their insurance premium. Many of the company’s 150 employees have earned the 100 percent coverage.

Under the program, a registered nurse provides each participant with a basic checkup three times per year. Participation in the program is voluntary, and 135 of the company’s 150 employees have taken advantage of the opportunity. Program participants are evaluated on a number of health risk factors, including blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol levels, amount of physical activity, and remaining tobacco free.

Becoming healthier is actually quite simple: eat sensibly, exercise regularly. Those who smoke and drink heavily should stop. However, these seemingly simple steps are often wrapped up in more difficult psychological issues. Some eat to mask sadness.

Some smoke to ease jangled nerves. Many don’t exercise because they can’t find the time.

The governor’s plan, which encourages 12 weeks of exercise (the magic number to get people hooked, according to health care experts), is a good start. However, what Mathews Bros. has shown is that backing from an employer, coupled with real financial incentives, can help employees overcome obstacles and really shape up.