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Weight Loss Bets at Work - Can They Go Too Far?

Posted on Feb 18th 2009 5:00PM by Bethany Sanders

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss

Earlier this month, we talked about betting on weight loss and that money has been found to be a short-term incentive for people looking to lose weight. But one questioned remained: It might motivate people to lose weight, but is it a healthy idea?

Here's one big red flag: Blogger Carrie shares her story of a workplace "wellness" program that got so intense, she actually had to quit her job. Carrie says, "....I lived with calories, fat grams and sugar grams labeled on the coffee creamers, having the bowl of chocolates I kept on my desk forcibly removed (by vote, no less! And might I add that I did not get to vote in this Survivor-esque "election"), and as much food/weight chatter going on outside my head as there was inside..."

I'm sorry, but you just do not mess with a woman's bowl of chocolates.

Carrie was a recovering anorexic, so this program was especially dangerous for her. But I really do think workplace wellness programs can benefit people ... if they encourage exercise and slow and steady weight loss. In Carrie's case, people were losing weight as fast as they could to win a bet -- a yo-yo dieting disaster waiting to happen.

Have you ever been involved in a workplace wellness program? Did it teach you safe healthy habits? Or did the friendly competition put too much pressure on?

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Tags: betting, dieting, eating-disorders, healthy-habits, weight-loss, workplace-wellness

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

u262f 2-18-2009 @ 8:07PM

In my opinion, the idea of any weight loss competition is just plain stupid on very many levels, even for people who aren't trying to recover from eating disorders. That isn't a "wellness" program at all.

I once participated in a very good company wellness program. We all got free pedometers, and there was a web site where we were encouraged to post our numbers. Everybody who reached 10,000 steps per day for three months was awarded a certificate and entered into a drawing for free workout gear. People would go walking together during breaks and such, and the program fostered awareness, physical motion, and cooperation. Also, putting a cap on the number of steps means that people weren't spending so much time walking that they don't get their work done.

james 2-19-2009 @ 3:15PM

when did having the big bowl of chocolates on her desk be removed become labeled as "intense"? That seems to be a pretty reasonable way to help lose weight, to have the free chocolates sitting out in front of everyone all day be removed. If she thought having chocolates sit out was a a great idea and all of her co-workers voted otherwise then it seems to me like she really didn't fit in at that job and it's better for everyone that she's gone.

Now if they forced her to park a quarter mile from work so she could walk off some lbs, THAT would be intense.