News Update

December 2009

Breakfast Seminar Builds Appetite for Exercise

'Exercise, good diet and relaxation are the route to good health and improved performance'. This was the take home message from one of the country's leading physiologists Professor Greg Whyte, at the recent 'Exercise, Performance and Productivity' HR breakfast seminar held at the new London based Central Health and Performance Centre.

Greg, Professor of Applied Sport & Exercise Science at Liverpool John Moores University and fitness expert for a host of celebrities was joined by Simon Shepard, CEO of Optima-life, in talking to an audience of business executives from across the city.

Long Term Conditions
Research data, White Papers and Government campaigns are all highlighting the need to get the nation on the move. Long term conditions such as obesity, diabetes and mental health issues coupled with an aging society are taking their toll not only on an overstretched NHS system but also on performance in the workplace. Greg looked at these health issues in turn and highlighted their detrimental effect on both people and performance.

Work Site Health Promotion Activities Prove a Big Success
Showing a series of Work Site Health Promotion studies he was then able to show a direct correlation between exercise, improved physical capacity and Cardio Vascular Health. Simple activities such as organized group walks, just 4 x 30 minutes weekly walks over an 8 week period produced stunning results.

Staff are an Important Asset
For businesses, he said, it was important to improve 'our understanding of the connection between employee health and performance and identifying strategies to enhance wellness is an investment in human capital that can lead to greater organizational success.'

Simon Shepard then took up the baton and took a brief look at stress, why it happens, how it is possible to measure it and then set the audience thinking about positive strategies to combat it.

So what is Stress?
The words 'I'm stressed' can be heard in organisations up and down the country every hour of the day and every day of the week.

Defining it as a psychological or physiological state that occurs when a load exceeds a threshold, Simon highlighted the cost of stress through its effect on health, with reduced life expectancy and cardiovascular disease; on productivity, with over 50% of absence directly due to stress and 13.8 million days lost per annum, and to the economy with costs estimated at over £300million.

Real-Time Personalised Physiological Data
Assessment of stress has historically been largely subjective. Now the tools are available to map physiological behaviours, determining very clearly elements of physical and non physical stress, matched against the bodies ability to recover.

Simon highlighted how such assessments can now be carried out in real -time reflecting real-life conditions. He took his audience through a series of reports showing how lifestyle behaviours, a hectic social life and long haul travel can all impact on the body's ability to recover. The results were highly visual for the observer and clearly identified high periods of stress with limited recovery.

Recognise, Measure and Implement
While we can all cope with a degree of overload in our lives, constant stress will inevitably lead to illness and long-term health issues. Recognising and measuring stress is the first stage in the process to improved health and performance. It is then essential to implement strategies to develop a lifestyle that has a balance of exercise, healthy diet and relaxation.

The seminar finished with a flurry of questions from a very knowledgeable audience and Vikki Thorne, Senior Occupational Health Advisor, BUPA Wellness, Merrill Lynch Europe summed up the session saying:

'It was a very good evidence based seminar explaining why employer's should be investing and supporting the health and well-being of working age people.'

Here are a few examples of the highly visual reports detailing stress and recovery:

Chart Colour code:
Dark Blue - Physical Activity
Brown - non physical stress
Light blue - recovery

Example one
Business entertaining

This comparative study shows two nights in the life of a London business man.
Day 1 shows a small amount of exercise in the morning, a significant amount of stress during the day, an evening at home and a healthy amount of night-time recovery.
Day 2
Despite going to bed at roughly the same time, there is no recovery until 6am the next morning. The business man entertained a client that evening and consumed a considerable amount of alcohol.

Example two
A long haul flight