INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
DIET AND NUTRITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Impacts of Dietary/Nutritional Wellness Programs
EXERCISE AND FITNESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Impacts of Fitness-Oriented Wellness Programs
ACHIEVING WELLNESS; EDUCATION AND MOTIVATION . . . . . . 6
The leading causes of death in American society are, to a significant degree, attributable to lifestyle factors. Such causes of death as heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebrovascular diseases and others are related to behaviors and life choices, such as proximity to environmental dangers. Changes in behavior have been shown to have a significant effect in reducing the incidence of these diseases. Epidemiological findings on the disease-behavior relationship have stimulated a broad movement in health and fitness promotion. The guiding concept of this movement is the idea of wellness. The wellness model asserts that the mere fact that an individual is not sick does not mean that she or he is healthy. Wellness consists of employing behaviors that prevent disease and prolong life while seeking the optimum state of health, fitness and well-being each individual can achieve. A review of the impact of behavior changes demonstrates the effectiveness of the wellness model, provides information on the levels of dietary change and exercise that are necessary to achieve optimum health and prevent disease. Despite the proved effectiveness of such behavior changes, wellness remains a distant goal for most people and an examination of wellness motivations shows how important increased education and promotion really are.
The principal behaviors that have been promoted in wellness programs are in the areas of diet, exercise, stress management, and control over dangerous behaviors (such as smoking and drinking alcohol). The various activities promote well...