Majority of working women in pursuit of a healthier lifestyle
CLEVELAND — Today’s working women are remarkably health-conscious. According to a new study from WorkPlace Impact, 85% of working women are focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle or losing weight.
“It is no surprise that working women want to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle,” said Shelly Sekki, president WorkPlace Impact. “Just how widespread this sentiment is creates a huge opportunity for brands to match products and marketing with working women who want to balance their work and personal lives. The ideal setting for this engagement is the workplace,” she said. “This study reconfirms the commitment working women are making across all avenues from taking advantage of employer health programs to dishing about diet and recipes with co-workers.”
The study found that 56% of working women rely on employers and coworkers for motivation and support. Participants rated face-to-face interaction as their top method to rely on others for support. The study also found that working women are looking beyond diet to accomplish their health-and-wellness goals.
Other findings included:
Nearly 53% of working women in 2014 reported that their employer has a wellness program above and beyond health insurance. This is up from 44% who said the same in 2012;
The top three initiatives working women cited in their company’s healthy lifestyle program were weight loss challenges (60.9%), exercise tips (54.5%) and onsite screenings for cholesterol, blood-glucose, weight, BMI, etc. (49.8%);
Of those who indicated that their employer had a health-and-wellness program, a little more than 87% said that they appreciate their employers’ efforts;
81% of working women rely on others for encouragement with their exercise plans;
62% seek out support when it comes to diet;
Both diet and recipes had a positive increase over 2012 data, while exercise and smoking cessation categories decreased;
The majority of working women indicated that the workday makes it easier for them to stick to healthy eating habits;
59% of working women said they share tips about food to obtain or achieve a healthy lifestyle during the workday. As many as 53% said they share tips about diet and 40% about exercise for the same reason;
Nine-out-of-10 participants reported that they regularly or occasionally exercise (34% do so regularly); and
The most popular activity was outdoor exercise such as walking, running and hiking (97.4%). The second most popular was an indoor program at home (62.1%) and rounding out the top three was going to the gym, with 56% reporting that they regularly or occasionally visit a facility.
The study’s findings are gathered in “5 Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of Working Women”, which polled 1,164 American working female consumers in late 2014.