Robert Flores spent nearly 30 years on a roller coaster regimen of diets and exercise programs,
Flores, now 52, was done calorie counting, and increased exercise wasn't yielding results. At the beginning of 2024, a benefits flyer for Wondr Health's free one-year online training program caught his eye.
"I knew there had to be a different way," he says. "One of the things I was [already] doing was changing my mindset; getting out of the pressure-packed situation of, 'I have to lose X pounds by Y date.' Just a small shift, thinking not about losing weight, [but rather] how do I manage my health? I was really trying to reframe this effort to make it long-lasting."
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Wondr fit with his new mentality perfectly, he says. Because eating and weight are connected to other areas of wellness, the platform works with 140 partners and health plans to tackle health management from all angles: Users have access to health coaches who provide individualized support for weight, nutrition, alcohol use, sleep, stress and more. The platform also offers educational content through master classes taught by health professionals, as well as record keeping and a place to communicate with other members.
"Every skill they taught you built on the previous one, and then it started to take shape," Flores said. "Every new skill gives you another dimension, or a different angle to see."
According to the CDC, around 70% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, which separate data says accounts for over $400 billion per year in costs for employers. Research suggests that approximately half of adults try to lose weight each year, yet it's a tough battle for most: A survey of 2,000 people by Talker Research for Medifast found that on average, respondents had attempted to lose weight three times in the past five years, with a median loss goal of 29 pounds.
Wondr's comprehensive support helps people make the kind of behavioral alterations that lead to lasting change, says Dr. Tim Church, Wondr's chief medical officer.
"This is an extremely personal endeavor, both in terms of psychology and physiology and everybody has different struggles," he says. "[For instance] if you're an emotional eater, you need a lot of emotional eating content. One of the things we've worked hard on is helping people reflect upon what their challenges are, and then giving them the skills to address those challenges."
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Options beyond GLP-1 medications
Behavioral training should be backed up by continuous support and skill reinforcement, especially for people who lose large amounts of weight, Church says. He notes that keeping weight off can be more difficult than losing it, and those who go through this type of transformation can face many obstacles, including their body's reaction, mental impacts and sabotaging behavior by those around them.
With all of the options for weight loss available, the market has become saturated with programs and medications: Almost half of employers cover GLP-1s for obesity and 21% are considering adding them in the next few years, according to a survey from the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions. But these can come with an expensive price tag, leading to a catch for employees. The survey also found that those thinking about adding GLP-1s are focused on cost-reducing strategies like limiting access, and people would lose access to coverage if they left their job.
Behavioral change is low cost, but comes with a big payoff, Dr. Church says. Benefits professionals should find resources that are simple to use and that focus on someone's whole health journey, not just the numbers on a scale.
"Our job [is] to build healthier human beings," Church says.
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Assessing his food habits led to an immediate difference for Flores, who lost four pounds within a week of starting the program. Within a month he lost 21. It quickly broke down common dieting myths and taught him better eating habits.
"The work was in my head," he says. "I'll keep on losing until it's too hard for me to lose and it's easier for me to maintain, because that's when I know I'm at the right weight."
With the skills he has acquired, Flores is confident that he has found a long-term solution for managing his weight, and believes they are something anyone can benefit from learning.
"There wasn't anything complex," he says. "I don't know what other program I could have found that would have had all these concepts lined up this way. You are now in control of your behavior and no one can take that away from you."
