An ounce of prevention more than a pound of cure: the national debate over health-care reform started out correctly focused on issues of spending, treatment and coverage. But it may have given short shrift to one area of potential cost containment that could produce enormous change: wellness and healthy living initiatives.

• Author: Ladd, Scott
• Position: HEALTH CARE

During the often brackish battle over the future of health care in the United States, the debate frequently centered on ways to corral the expense of existing treatments, expand availability and assure patients affordability. All of which are certainly critical issues, though examined in the current context of a system already staggered by excessive cost. Largely lost in all of it was any meaningful consideration of preventative methods and their impact on reform.

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Yet most health experts, industry analysts and employers would acknowledge that the most curative response to runaway medical costs is to actually slow or eliminate serious illnesses, and not simply treatment or reactive measures. To this end, growing numbers of corporate leaders understand the value of wellness and healthy living initiatives. Such programs promise sustainable health-care reform within the business community, yielding potentially huge systemic savings.

Combine that with a rising need to limit their own medical expenses, and business managers are embracing the idea of comprehensive wellness programs in the workplace. Despite recent economic constraints and pressure to show immediate and quantifiable gains, companies continue to adopt such initiatives in order to better manage healthcare premiums, create healthier workforces and stem unwanted employee turnover.

It's not just a matter of health, industry experts say. It's a question of business viability in the long term. As most wellness advocates would attest, an ounce of prevention can be worth billions of dollars of cure.

The drive to spend on prevention is rooted in simple math: One in three U.S. illnesses is the result of unhealthy and often preventable behaviors, such as inactivity, smoking and poor diets. Obesity rates are rising alarmingly across the nation, having quadrupled in the past 10 years alone. Too many Americans don't exercise enough; indeed, only one in six engages in a high level of physical activity, reports the Centers for Disease Control. High absentee rates caused by chronic illnesses sap company resources.

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The problems are evident across the public and private spectrums. Earlier this year, Congress authorized the spending of $1 billion toward wellness and preventative care. Most regard that as a good start, but it's likely that corporate America must lead the charge toward creating healthier work environments.

The global human capital consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide--in conjunction with the National Business Group on Health, an association of about 300 employers--surveyed companies recently and found that interest in wellness and healthy living programs is quite high, and growing. Nearly six in 10 companies taking part in the study offer a lifestyle-improvement program, up from 43 percent two years ago.

The number...