Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Biggest Loser -- Baseline Screenings

We have an ongoing relationship with LifeWork Strategies an affiliate of Adventist Health Care. They have done our on-site screenings for years and our staff trusts them. We contracted with them to handle all the screenings and most of the education for our Biggest Loser program.

Our initial screenings went well with one exception – the physical fitness tests. We decided to use the Presidential Challenge Adult Fitness Test minus the mile walk. The nurses weren’t well calibrated on what they counted as a sit-up and a push-up, so I don’t think people got a very realistic picture of their strength. If we do this again, I’ll have trainers come in and administer the strength tests. We’ll chalk this up as our first lesson learned the hard way.

I also would have liked to have done the mile walk or a VO2 Max Test. A VO2 Max Test measures an individual’s ability to transport and utilize oxygen during exercise. It is a reflection of how fit the individual is, but I can’t imagine administering it for 99 people.

Our initial assessment included the following:

· Weight

· BMI

· Body Fat

· Waist Circumference

· Push-Ups

· Sit-Ups

· Flexibility

· Blood Pressure

· Lipid Panel

· Glucose

Each individual met one-on-one with a nurse and received a written report with the results about a week after the assessment. At that time, people also to set individual goals for themselves. We’ll be doing a pared down assessment at the midpoint of our 12 week program and a full assessment at the end. The biggest expense of our program is the blood work. The lab work alone runs $35 per blood draw.

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