Durham says loss helps bottom line

DURHAM -- Fliers posted around Durham County offices that announce an employee weight-loss challenge pose a sobering question: Is your weight hurting you?

"Ouch," 160 workers have responded.

The Durham County staffers, from sheriff's deputies to the clerks who issue birth certificates, are being encouraged to take a look at their waistlines -- together -- in a friendly competition among departments. So far, participants have shed more than 200 pounds in weekly weigh-ins.

The 12-week competition lasts into October. It's just the latest effort the county is making to encourage its 1,900 staffers to be healthier and more productive.

Last year, the county opened a wellness clinic inside its main building on Main Street, its services free to county employees. There, they can set up a one-hour appointment with a nutritionist. Also last year, the county added 30 minutes to the standard hour lunch break so employees could get some exercise midday; many of them opted to walk around downtown.

"In the long run, their energy level is going to be better, and they're going to be better employees for us," County Manager Mike Ruffin said.

As Americans spend more time at work, employers are looking for creative ways to improve their workers' health, from gym discounts to on-site aerobics. It's in their financial interest.

"If employees get their [health] screenings, exercise and maintain a healthy weight, they're going to use their health benefits less, which saves money," said Diane Shepherd, a benefits manager for Orange County, where, among other initiatives, employees have received free pedometers.

Durham's initiatives all have come under Ruffin's tenure, which started about eight years ago. But this time, Ruffin can cheer his employees on in their quest for a better diet and more exercise and not feel like a hypocrite.

About six months ago, Ruffin said, he couldn't even cross his legs because his belly was protruding into his lap. At his heaviest weight of 320 pounds, he struggled to tie his shoes, he said.

"It's hard for me to be promoting wellness when I'm one of the sickest and fattest," Ruffin said.

But thanks to a weight-loss surgery in February, Ruffin recently weighed in at 236 pounds, an 84-pound loss. He got help from a restrictive band placed inside his abdomen and around his stomach to help him feel full with less food.

Ruffin experienced severe complications from the band and had to have it removed, taking a two-month absence to recover from a serious infection. Despite the setback, he is continuing to lose weight through exercise and calorie-counting, he said.

Intensive chores help

Perhaps no employee will lose quite as much weight as Ruffin has, or as drastically, but Fati Mosley is off to a seven-pound start. Though the 35-year-old caseworker isn't hitting the gym, he's adding intensity to the things he already does, such as mowing, mopping and vacuuming, he said.

Deborah Morris, a staffer for Durham's register of deeds, has lost a pound, she said. On a good day, she's exercising for more than an hour.

She is competing on a team with six other women in her office.

"When you're doing it by yourself, you can kind of cheat a little bit," said Morris, 52. "But not when you're part of a team."

On Oct. 30, the county will announce the winners in the contest. The team and individuals with the biggest loss will gain bragging rights and an "after" photo in an employee newsletter.

"We're trying to plug into whatever it takes to get people healthier," said Stephanie Turner, a nurse practitioner who runs the county's wellness clinic.

She worries that some participants will lose motivation after the contest. But, she said, she's planning another weight-loss challenge for January, in time to capitalize on all those resolutions for the New Year.