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The importance of managing employee health and productivity in an organizational view, which addresses the most expensive drivers in the health care costs with prevention, education and employee responsibility as key areas is discussed.

Very-low-calorie diets (VLCDs) can be used to lose weight rapidly, but they can be dangerous if they are used improperly. When the body loses fat free mass (FFM, made up of muscles, bones, and other tissues besides fat), it becomes more efficient at converting food into energy. This means that as the amount of FFM lost during dieting increases, the resting metabolic rate (RMR, the amount of energy required to maintain normal body functions while the body is at rest) decreases, and when the RMR decreases it becomes more difficult to lose weight. Since exercise can increase the amount of FFM (because exercise builds muscles), it has been used in combination with VLCDs in an attempt to prevent the loss of FFM that can occur during dieting. To determine whether endurance exercise (EE), weight training (WT), or endurance exercise and weight training (EEWT) alter weight loss and/or body composition, 69 obese females were placed on a liquid VLCD for 90 days. Twenty-six of the women followed the diet alone, 16 followed the diet with EE, 18 followed the diet with WT, and nine followed the diet with EEWT. During the diet period, body weight, body fat, FFM and RMR decreased. However, the decreases in body weight, body fat, FFM and RMR were the same for all groups, regardless of the use of or type of exercise. RMR decreased by between 7 and 12 percent for all diet groups. Small decreases in physical strength occurred in the women who followed the diet alone and diet plus EE, while small increases in strength were recorded for those in the WT and EEWT groups. It is concluded that adding exercises to the diet did not affect weight loss, loss of FFM or RMR. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)