LCC Participating in NC WAY to Health Project

Lenoir Community College is on its way to health, NC Way to Health project. LCC is one of 17 community colleges in the state participating in a research study conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Approximately 1,300 employees in the 17 community colleges are expected to participate in the North Carolina WAY to Health project. “WAY” is an acronym for “Worksite Activities for You.”

According to researchers at UNC Chapel Hill School of Public Health, in North Carolina, obesity accounts for more than $2 billion annually in increased medical spending with nearly half of that total being financed through employer-provided health insurance.

With more than 60 percent of U.S. adults overweight or obese and the resulting costs to employers rising each year, weight-loss programs adaptable to the workplace are needed. To be effective, such programs must be designed to maintain privacy, employee interest, and commitment to a long-term success.
But what is most effective? What helps employees maintain weight? And what are the costs and health benefits of different types of weight-loss programs?

Since evidence is limited and few worksite weight-loss efforts have been rigorously tested, researchers at the UNC at Chapel Hill have begun trying to generate useful answers. The study is supported by a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The research team is headed by Dr. Laura Linnan at NC Chapel Hill.

Through this year-long study, the team will evaluate the effects of three programs on employees’ weight, physical activity and diet. Participants will be assigned randomly to one of the three program conditions. The first is an environment-only program called the Winners’ Circle Dining Program, which attempts to increase access to healthy foods at work.The second adds a state-of-the-art Web-based weight-loss program to “Winners’ Circle,” and the third offers both, along with cash incentives for those who shed pounds and achieve a healthy weight.

Eligible employees from each participating college will be randomly assigned to one of the three weight-loss intervention programs. The team will investigate how altering work environments might make them more conducive to good health and examine the effects such programs have on social and physical environments at all participating campuses.

Dr. Ramona Kearney, coordinating the program at LCC, is working with Registered Dietitian Jessica Seymour at the Kinston Community Health Center to implement the Winner’s Circle Dining Program on campus. The UNC team will spend several days on campus at intervals during the year to counsel participants and measure results.

Along with Dr. Laura Linnan, associate professor of health behavior and health education at the UNC School of Public Health, are Dr. Deborah Tate, assistant professor of nutrition and of health behavior and health education, and Dr. Skrikant I. Bangdiwala, professor of biostatistics, and Dr. Eric Finkelstein, a Research Triangle Institute economist.

The N.C. WAY to Health study will take place in collaboration with the N.C. Community College System, Research Triangle Institute, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, N.C. Prevention Partners, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and the State of North Carolina Teachers and State Employees Comprehensive Major Medical Plan.