Make the Most of Biometric Screenings

It seems like lots of companies do biometric screenings for their employees these days. It’s a great way to give people a snapshot of their health. But knowing those numbers doesn’t help if they don’t understand what they mean. We have two handouts that can help – the Biometrics Screening Tool Handout Tearpad and the Printable Biometrics Form PDF.

On one side of these handouts, there’s space to record BMI, waist circumference, hemoglobin A1C, blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol (including total, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides). On the other side, there’s a glossary with easy-to-understand descriptions of each measurement.

Individual instructions or goals can be written in the space on the bottom left of side one. If you use the printable PDF form, you can add a logo or message before printing.

Here are 10 ideas for lessons and messages to use with the Biometrics Screening handouts:

  1. A biometric screening provides a snapshot of your health. These numbers tell where you’re doing well and areas that need attention.
  2. Manage these numbers by being more active, eating more lean protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, and eating less high fat, high sugar processed foods.
  3. If you’re missing any measurements, take the handout to your doctor and ask to have blood tests or other measurements done.
  4. Calculate your BMI using the formula on the handout, or search online for “BMI calculator” and plug in your height and weight. If your BMI falls in the overweight or obesity categories, losing even a relatively small amount of weight can improve your health.
  5. Waist circumference can tell you a lot, but many physicians don’t take this measurement. Use the instructions on this handout to measure your own waist circumference (or ask someone to help you). If it’s 40+ inches (for men) or 35+ inches (for for women), your risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure increases.
  6. Hemoglobin A1C measures your blood glucose (or blood sugar) over the past few months. Normal is less than 5.7%; prediabetes is 5.7% to 6.4%; and diabetes is 6.5% or higher. The higher the number, the greater your risk of diabetes-related complications.
  7. Blood glucose (or blood sugar) is sometimes measured after you’ve fasted. Normal is less than 100; prediabetes is 100-125; and diabetes is 126 or higher. If you haven’t fasted, a blood glucose of 200 or more indicates diabetes.
  8. Blood pressure measurements are given as two numbers (top is systolic, bottom is diastolic). Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80. If your blood pressure is above normal, check the categories on the handout to see where you fall.
  9. Cholesterol isn’t just one number! Keep track of your “good” cholesterol (HDL) and “bad” cholesterol (LDL), as well as triglycerides, which are a type of fat found in the blood.
  10. When your biometrics are out of the normal range, your risk increases for diseases like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Knowing your numbers gives you something to track besides just a number on the scale.

Display our Measuring Your Biometrics poster or banner at health fairs and screenings. People can compare their biometric results to normal or optimal numbers based on recommendations from the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Finding Success on the Path to Wellness

Have I mentioned that I just updated all of our comprehensive wellness programs?

Because I have, and I’m really proud of what my team and I have created. The latest updates include information from the 2015-2020 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, along with a streamlined presentation platform and general improvements that will make these resources more fun for your audience.

So to celebrate that excitement, I’m sharing some slides from one of the most popular programs, The 12 Lessons of Wellness. Today’s preview comes from the show Getting Started, and the slides I’ve chosen offer advice for staying motivated and sidestepping pitfalls on the path to good health.

Let’s take a closer look!

FaceChallenges

As you embark on any path to wellness, you’ll eventually encounter a few stumbling blocks. That’s totally normal! If you plan ahead, it will be easier to overcome those obstacles and continue on your road to success.

Make sure to have a plan B for when the going gets a bit tougher. Fill your freezer with healthy meals. Prep healthy snacks and store them in the fridge or pantry. Keep some in the car in case an on-the-go craving strikes. Speaking of putting things in the car, toss a few exercise clothes in the trunk so that you’re always prepared for a workout. This will help you avoid skipping workouts because you didn’t plan ahead, and it will also ensure that you are prepared if an unexpected exercise opportunity pops up.

Remember that reaching and maintain a healthy weight is your lifetime plan. When you feel discouraged, focus on your successes and review your reasons for wanting to lose weight in the first place.

SpecialOccasions

Now let’s delve into some detail. How can you stay motivated during special occasions?

One tip is to eat before the party so that you aren’t starving when you face down a festive and lavish spread. While you’re there, focus on the conversation. If you do want to indulge a bit, keep things small, exercise the next day, and eat lighter for the rest of the day or the day after.

At these parties, you may encounter a weight loss saboteur or two. Avoid people who don’t support your efforts and instead find people who share your goals. Who knows? This may be a great opportunity to get a workout buddy!

SlowProgress

Let’s move on to another challenge. What happens when you hit a period of slow/no progress?

To start, have patience with yourself. Some days are easier than others. Revisit your goals and make sure that they’re realistic. You can always talk with your dietitian or doctor about your frustration too — they’ll have lots of great ideas for you.

RewardWhen it comes to keeping your motivation through health and fitness challenges, sometimes a reward is just the boost you need. Establish what your reward will be ahead of time, and remember, the reward shouldn’t be food!

It’s often helpful to set up rewards for milestones, not just the final goal. Plan a few rewards that you can earn along your path to fitness and weight loss — don’t just save one big reward for the end!

The show goes on in much more detail, but that’s where I’d like to stop the sample for today.

If you like what you see, consider exploring the 12 Lessons of Wellness and Weight Loss program. It’s one of the most comprehensive and effective programs for employee weight loss that my team and I have created, and it has been hugely popular.

And, as a special bonus, here are the free printable PDFs of the slides we previewed today!

Getting Started Sample Slides

And here are some of the top-selling weight loss resources from the Nutrition Education Store!

7 Simple Ways to Save Calories

Reward Chart Handout

Feel Full with Fewer Calories PowerPoint and Handout Set

Make a Great Nutrition Month Display in 3 Stress-Free Steps

It’s Nutrition Month, which makes it a perfect time to communicate the key nutrition education messages that you’ve been dying to address. Whether you’re psyched to finally be able to discuss the role of saturated fats in heart health, excited to explain the connection between added sugars and obesity, or anything and everything in between, your time has finally come. But how can you ensure that your audience is engaged in what you’re trying to communicate? Well, that’s where Nutrition Month displays come in. Follow these simple steps and you will have put together a colorful, engaging, and informative display that actually reaches the audience you’re trying to address.

Part One: Location, Location, Location

You want to make sure that your display is in an area that both draws high traffic and promotes lingering. Though the elevator might be full of people at all hours (and they certainly are a captive audience), the time limits imposed by its speed in reaching its destination make it an unappealing place for a display. Plus, it might get a little cramped in there. By the same token, the conference room at the end of an untraveled hallway might have plenty of space but be unlikely to draw a crowd. Look instead for places that can draw a crowd and keep them there for a bit. Think the company lobby, a break room, a lunch area, etc. Of course, if you’re setting up your display at a wellness fair or nutrition show, then you’ve already got a great location and part one will be a breeze.

Part Two: The Visuals

Once you’ve got a great location, the next step is drawing people to your display. Visuals will be your “make or break” here. With a colorful, intriguing display, you can pique people’s interest and bring them over to learn more. Once they’re engaged, you can delve further into the information you’re trying to communicate. So, what kind of visuals can you use? Consider any of the following…

  • A question on a banner. You want to ask something that your audience wants to know the answer to. Skip a dull title like “saturated fats” and instead ask a question like “What are Saturated Fats Doing to YOUR Heart?” Consider coming at the problem from a unique angle. For example “Is Chocolate a Health Food?” tends to draw a crowd because people genuinely want to know whether the answer is yes. Think about what will prompt your participants to… well… participate.
  • A poster or two. A pop of color in an unexpected place really draws the eye. Posters offer a great way to communicate the absolute key messages that you want to get across, and do so by addressing several different learning styles. You can browse the amazing selection of posters at the Nutrition Education Store, or craft your own at home. Consider including a chart or graph, a few key points about your topic, and an illustration or two. Craft stores offer scrap booking supplies or you can make and print a poster at a print shop.
  • A gift or prize. Do you have something that your participants want? Whether their visit to your display enters them into a raffle for an extra vacation day or you just happened to put a bowl of awesome wristbands out in a highly visible area, if you have something they want, your audience will come to you. A selection of tasty samples for a nutritious cooking demo or quick lunch idea has been known to draw a crowd. They may come for the prize, but then they’ll usually stay for your information.

Of course, you aren’t limited to one or two “hooks” to draw your audience. It could be effective to combine a few of the ideas above. After all, you want your display to appeal to a wide range of people so that everyone will stop by at some point.

Here are popular topics right now:

  • Portion control
  • Guide to food labels
  • Diabetes awareness
  • Gardening vegetables
  • Supermarket tours
  • Healthier cooking with colors
  • Energy drink over-consumption
  • Healthy 123 – how to make healthier choices for people who are time and budget strapped and making all the wrong choices
  • Moving more
  • Fad diet 101

Cheryl Bachinski, a school nurse, is planning a health fair and she needs a banner to help people who are constrained by time and money to make better choices for their families who are struggling with their weight. She says they drink too many sweetened sodas, eat too many cupcakes and chips, and they never exercise. The Healthier Choices 123 Banner was created for her. Check it out and you can buy it on sale or use the display idea for your own.

Part Three: Follow Up

You don’t want to oversimplify and limit yourself to communicating solely through the eye-popping, interest-grabbing visuals. Once people are drawn in by part two, often they will want to know more detail about the subjects you’re addressing. That’s where handouts, recipes, and scientific studies come in. If you’re offering samples of a nutritious dish, for example, it would be wise to have copies of the recipe on hand so that anyone who is interested can make the food themselves. You might also stock a couple handouts about the health benefits of the foods that the recipe features. By the same token, if your visual is a banner asking people whether or not they are eating too much salt, you might want to have some handouts about salt consumption and a few peer-reviewed studies for people to read if they drop by your booth. It’s best if you have lots of copies of whatever you’re disseminating. That way people can review the information multiple times and use your resources as a reference long after the display is dismantled.

There are lots of other things that you can do to make a great Nutrition Month display. You can coordinate activities, bring in a guest speaker, play games, etc. The possibilities really are endless, but the steps above are a good place to start. Of course, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel — there are tons of display kits that are ready-to-go in the Nutrition Education Store. After all, we gathered this knowledge about how to make an engaging display. Why wouldn’t we apply it right away in order to offer you all the tools you need, with none of the effort? There’s no need to burn the midnight oil crafting the perfect poster/handout combination when there are hundreds of options already available in the store. Plus, we happily (and quickly) create custom supplies upon request.

Some of the most popular display kits have been selling like gangbusters in the leadup to Nutrition Month, so if you’re looking for one of these, check out the salt display kit (pictured on the left), the cooking demonstration display kit, or the health fair kit. There are also fantastic a la carte items available, things like a poster easel or a vinyl banner. Remember, if you don’t see something that you want, let us know and we’ll make it for you right away!

So, what displays are you putting together for Nutrition Month? Share your great ideas by tweeting us @foodhealth or writing on our Facebook wall.