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We've posted frequently on the need to build a strong workplace wellness culture as part of a strong workplace wellness program. Today, more evidence, as Business Insurance reports that “the most successful initiatives build a culture of wellness in the workplace and provide multiple weight-management methods from which employees can choose.”

And one of the key areas where workplace wellness is gaining “steam” is in the fight against obesity.

LuAnn Heinen, Washington-based vice president at the National Business Group on Health, is quoted as saying: “Obesity doesn't exist in a silo. It's so connected to other levers that employers can impact.”

And the number of businesses offering weight management programs is growing.

According to the Business Insurance piece: “A March survey of 121 U.S. employers by the NBGH and Fidelity Investments found that 73% of employers are offering a weight management program this year, and 9% are considering one in 2016. That compares with 69% offering weight management programs in 2014 and 58% in 2009.”

“Managing weight in the workplace begins with building ‘the foundational aspects of employee health and well-being,' Ms. Heinen said, including providing healthy food options, ways to move and stretch during the workday, and physical activity competitions and challenges to add a little peer pressure as motivation, Ms. Heinen said.”

For more on the facts on obesity in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions offers this important fact sheet.