The Tribune

Health coach Ethan Quant, of Elite Wellness Solutions, has succeeded in his weight loss journey and now wants to share his methods with the Bahamas in an effort to foster a culture of wellness and conquer the obesity epidemic.

We are facing a national crisis when it comes to the obesity epidemic. Every year over 70 percent of deaths in the Bahamas are as a direct result of non-communicable diseases. We cannot allow this trend to continue. CARICOM predicts within the next 20 years we will see an increase of 300 percent in deaths from non-communicable disease. Against this backdrop it is imperative that corporate Bahamas takes a stand on the front lines in the fight again obesity and make the health and well-being of their employees a priority. In fact, employee wellness programming should be integrated into the overall business strategy of a company.

Global business giants like Google, Facebook, Nike and Airbnb all know that healthy and happy employees are more productive, and that companies who prioritise employee wellness have a competitive advantage. Yet here in the Bahamas we are so far behind the eight ball and it’s having a devastating effect not just on our businesses, but on our communities and families as well. Having an unhealthy workforce coupled with a high-stress work environment is literally a ticking time bomb that is about to explode.

In my conversations with many Bahamian companies one of the first things they say is that the employees are not interested in wellness programming. However, in a recent survey conducted by my company, Elite Wellness Solutions, we found out something completely different.

• 68 percent of Bahamians feel as though their employer does not do enough to support their health and well-being

• 91 percent of Bahamians still show up to work even though they are not feeling well.

• 75 percent of Bahamians confessed that being sick does affect their productivity at work.

• 65 percent say that they have gotten sick from a sick co-worker

·• 87 percent said that they would like for their company to introduce an employee wellness programme

• Only eight percent said that their company has some sort of wellness programming.

Now I know that there are some companies that have taken and are taking steps towards introducing employee wellness programming, but we need all companies to introduce effective employee wellness programming, so that Bahamians can start getting healthy.

I know how hard it is to stay on track with your health wellness and fitness goals. All of the hard work that you are putting in is constantly at risk of unravelling every day that you are going to a high-stress, unhealthy work environment.

This is not an attack on corporate Bahamas, but rather a call to action as we are at war with unhealthy lifestyles, obesity, and non-communicable diseases, and we need Bahamian businesses on the front line creating work environments for employees that contribute positively to their mental, emotional, physical and financial health and well-being.

Remember that the race to good health and well-being – at home, at work or in our communities – is a marathon not a sprint. It also requires all of us working together towards making our country healthy.

If you would like to learn more about effective employee wellness programming, please feel free to reach out to me directly.

• If you need help navigating any part of your health, wellness and fitness process, you can contact Ethan Quant at ethan@elite-wellnesssolutions.com or on Instagram at @ethanquant.