Tag Archives: Vitality

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PruHealth and Mercer launch Britain’s Healthiest Company

PruHealth, the health insurer and Vitality wellness programme provider, has partnered with Mercer, the global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement and investments, to launch Britain’s Healthiest Company. This is the first index of its kind aiming to find and celebrate the country’s most outstanding organisations demonstrating best practice and innovative approaches to looking after the health and wellbeing of their staff.

Britain’s Healthiest Company will survey employers and employees at organisations with over 100 employees to gain a deeper insight into some of the biggest health risks and trends at the heart of the corporate nation’s health. It will also highlight those that are delivering real and measurable benefits, not only in the health and wellbeing of their people, but also in the health of their balance sheets.

Neville Koopowitz, CEO at PruHealth said: “With an ageing population, rising retirement age and the increase in chronic diseases linked to lifestyle it is becoming more critical than ever to ensure a healthy long-term workforce. Organisations are starting to recognise the link between a healthy workforce and a healthy bottom line, as those that encourage health and wellness within the workplace see lower sickness absence, lower presenteeism and greater productivity.

“The Britain’s Healthiest Company Index will give vital insight and understanding into how healthy today’s workforce is and which organisations are holding the gold medals when it comes to safeguarding their employees’ health and motivating them to lead a healthier way of life.”

As well as trophies for the winners, each participating organisation will receive a Corporate Health Report detailing the main health risks facing their organisation, tailor made recommendations on how to improve* and how they are benchmarked against other companies. Employees will also receive a Personal Health Report providing a unique insight into their health and recommendations on lifestyle changes they can make.

The overall winner will be named Britain’s Healthiest Company and there will be further commendations for other top performing companies, with the top organisations in each category appearing on the Britain’s Healthiest Company Index.

Britain’s Healthiest Company launched on 26th August 2012 and the closing date for entries is 7th November 2012. The results will be announced early in 2013. Further details on how to enter can be found at: www.britainshealthiestcompany.co.uk

Via EPR Network
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PruHealth and Daley Thomson launch ‘Walk the Tube’ app

PruHealth, the UK’s fourth-largest health insurer and provider of the Vitality wellness programme, the world’s longest-standing incentive-based health improvement solution, has teamed up with Daley Thompson to launch a free ‘Walk the Tube with Daley Thompson’ app.

While the tube map app will enable commuters and tourists in London to avoid the crush of the London Underground during the particularly busy summer period, it more importantly provides an accessible and cost-effective mechanism for Londoners to make a longer-term commitment to their health by establishing a precedent of walking. This is particularly important when considered in light of the generally low physical activity levels in the capital, and the strong link that exists between walking and improvements in health.

While simple and intuitive, the app provides an array of information related to the journey, plus activity and behavioural motivators, including:
– Step-by-step walking routes with an at-a-glance tube map showing the number of steps between stations
– Built in pedometer that provides a real-time overview of the number of steps, length of time and calories burned on each journey
– Motivational messages from Daley Thompson throughout the journey
– An ability to save regular journeys and maintain a record of walking history to provide a summary of total distance covered, number of steps taken and calories burned
– Real-time alerts that provide updates on the tube service, and allow an assessment to be made on whether it will be quicker to walk or wait for the train.
– Enables users to share details via Facebook

Daley Thompson, a PruHealth Vitality Ambassador said: “It’s a well-documented fact that overall levels of physical fitness do not tend to improve and people are not generally motivated by seeing amazing athletic accomplishments at the Games. This is a handy tool that can be easily incorporated into people’s lives that could translate the current wave of national pride into personal action to make small changes to every day routines. Not only is it great exercise helping you tone up during the summer, but for visitors and Londoners alike it gives you the opportunity to try new walks, beat your own best times – all whilst discovering the capital’s landmarks you would miss while stuck underground.”

Neville Koopowitz, CEO at PruHealth added: “PruHealth launched the very first ‘Walk the Tube’ map seven years ago and this new app is the next logical step to meet the needs of how people now access and use information. Ideally we should all be walking 10,000 steps each day to keep ourselves healthy and we hope this app will show commuters how easy it is to do that at any time of the year and beat travel hotspots at the same time.”

The app is available for both iPhone and Android phones and is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Via EPR Network
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PruHealth Reveals 39 Is The Age Brits Start To Worry About Health

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PruHealth has announced that 39 is the age Brits really start to worry about their health, according to new calculations* by the insurer that rewards people for engaging in healthy behaviour.

With thirty-something peers such as fitness-fanatic Gwyneth Paltrow (38 years) and channel-swimming David Walliams (39 years) showing vitality and achieving their health goals, perhaps it’s understandable the average Brit is feeling the heat as they approach the big four-zero.

However it seems Brits are all woe and not enough go. Whilst one in ten (11 per cent) constantly worry about their health and a further 40 per cent** worry that they are not healthy enough, they are not doing much to improve it. One in five (20 per cent) people admit laziness and time pressures are the main barriers to living healthily. For a further 15 per cent it’s simply their love of unhealthy foods that gets in the way.

Given the power of hindsight and their chance again, the survey asked respondents over the age of twenty-five what advice they would give their younger selves. The top five tips were: don’t smoke (19%), look after your body (15%), do more exercise (14%), think about the consequences of your actions (11%) and eat more healthily (10%).

Only 10 per cent would advise a ‘live for the moment’ approach and tell their younger selves to enjoy the present and not worry about the future.

However despite good intentions, the unfortunate reality is it takes the diagnosis of a serious illness to encourage four in five (80 per cent) Brits to improve their health, and over half (51 per cent) if it were a close friend or family member***.

Dr Katherine Tryon at PruHealth, said: “People lead busy lives, but there is a big task ahead in the UK to encourage people to make health changes now rather than later – prevention rather than cure. We need to stop worrying about our health and start doing something to look after ourselves. If approaching the big four-zero is the kick-start thirty-somethings need, then that can only be a good thing.

“Encouragingly over half the respondents (54 per cent) said that the offer of health incentives and health rewards are likely to change their behaviour and help them lead a healthy life. At PruHealth our key focus is to help remove barriers to health living and incentivise healthy activities via our Vitality scheme.”

Via EPR Network
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The Young Are Being Hit Hardest By The Strains Of Modern Life

PruHealth has revealed that the old adage of ‘being over the hill’ in later life may need to be revised as it seems the stresses and strains of modern life are hitting the younger generation the hardest.

The latest research from PruHealth, the health insurance provider that rewards policyholders for being healthy, has found that today’s 20-somethings feel three years older than their birth certificate states and the average 30-something feels their actual age, but the average Brit aged 40+ feels 11.5 years younger than their actual age.*

However, 20-30 somethings seem to have energy levels closer to those of retirees. More people in their 20s and 30s have a dip in their energy levels throughout the course of the day than any other age group, while 12% of 30-somethings don’t feel energetic at any point during the day at all – compared with only 6% of people in their 60s.

The research highlights how people in their 20s and 30s live unhealthier lifestyles than those in their 40s and 50s, which could be the reason for the younger generation’s sluggish energy levels and feeling older than their years. The top three reasons for lower energy levels were identified as an unhealthy diet, lack of exercise and not getting enough sleep. However, little action appears to be being taken to counteract this with only 47% saying they eat a balanced diet, 18% never exercise, and a quarter sleep for less than 6 hours a night.

The older generation tends to follow a more balanced diet, eats less unhealthy foods such as takeaways, and participates in a similar level of exercise compared with the younger generation. However, as the over 40s require less calories than the under 40s** this could be the key to their youthfulness.

Interestingly, people of all ages who feel younger than their real age are more likely to feel most energetic in the morning, while those who experience a peak in energy levels in the afternoon are more likely to feel older than their actual age.

Shaun Matisonn, CEO, PruHealth, said: “While it’s wonderful to see that the older we get, the better we feel, the energy levels of those under 40 clearly needs more attention. This age group need to get more exercise – and more sleep – eat healthily and follow more active lifestyles to help boost their energy levels.

“Finding time in your 30s to exercise and eat healthily can be especially difficult while you’re juggling a career and looking after a young family, but incorporating small steps in your daily routine, such as getting off the bus a stop early and snacking on fruit rather than crisps, can help make all the difference.”

Via EPR Network
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