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Wellness programs are quickly becoming the way many smart corporations are motivating their employees to live healthier lifestyles.

Reduced absenteeism, increased employee loyalty and a major decrease in health insurance costs are just some of the many benefits.

To reap these benefits, here are the three steps to building a Wellness Program:

Step 1: Create an incentive gift selection. Develop a catalog featuring products and services that will motivate your employees.

Step 2: Establish “wellness goals.” Some examples include target weights, quitting smoking, reducing blood pressure or lowering cholesterol. You can also include preventative check-ups as one of the goals.

Step 3: Reward points. Once your employees reach their goal, they receive points. And with these points, they can select from the variety of products and services to celebrate achieving their goals.

Wellness programs not only help improve the health of employees by motivating them to take care of themselves, but they also reduce these alarming health care costs associated with obesity and other major health issues.

Indeed, the recent release of the obesity study published in the journal Health Affairs demonstrates it’s clearly time for corporate America to take responsibility and make wellness programs mandatory!

Before I share with you the benefits of wellness programs, let’s take a look at the shocking findings from the study as reported by the New York Times:

* Obese Americans spend about 42 percent more on health care than other Americans
* Medical spending on obesity-related conditions is estimated to have reached147 billion a year in 2008. That figure represents almost 10 percent of all medical spending.
* Obese Americans spend about $1,429 more on health care each year than the roughly $3,400 spent by other Americans

How do you create a wellness program?

It’s really simple. You establish “wellness goals,” e.g. target weights, quitting smoking, reducing blood pressure or lowering cholesterol.

You can also include preventative check-ups as one of the goals. It’s not just obesity that wellness programs can help prevent. There are a wide array of diseases that can be prevented with early detection.

Once your employees reach their goal, they receive points. And with these points, they can select from a variety of products and services to celebrate achieving their goals.

What results can you expect from your wellness program?

Reduced absenteeism, increased employee loyalty and a major decrease in health insurance costs are just some of the many benefits.

Bottom line: The time is now to begin a wellness program. It will improve the health of your employees — and your company’s long-term potential!