Tamar Kahn
2 October 2008
Cape Town — Building on its success in incentivising its members to get fitter, SA's biggest medical scheme, Discovery Health, has now turned its sights on cleaning up their plates. From February, Discovery members will get discounts of up to 25% on healthy food purchased from retail giant Pick n Pay.
"Research shows 70% of healthcare costs are due to modifiable risks, the biggest of which are exercise and diet," said Discovery's chief marketing officer, Hylton Kallner.
Independent research commissioned by Discovery found members of its Vitality rewards programme, which gives members discounts on gym membership, travel, and movie tickets if they take regular health checks and exercise, were healthier and cost the scheme less than members who eschewed the rewards programme.
Vitality members who were "highly engaged" with the programme's wellness initiatives had lower healthcare costs as a result of fewer hospital admissions, shorter hospital stays and lower overall hospital costs compared with people who did not make full use of the programme or chose not to belong to it.
For example, the hospital admission rate for diabetes and other endocrine disorders was 20% lower among "actively engaged" Vitality members than among the other groups, and their hospital costs for these diseases were 21% lower.
"The research adds to the growing body of evidence that shows healthy lifestyles, the most affordable, accessible and simplest measures to implement, may have the greatest effect on addressing our nation's growing chronic disease burden," said Prof Vicki Lambert from the University of Cape Town's exercise science and sports medicine unit.
One in five men and one in four women is overweight. High blood pressure, strokes and heart disease rank in the top 10 causes of death.
Discovery members pay an extra monthly premium to join Vitality.
Discovery is now focusing on persuading its members to eat better, as there is growing scientific evidence that a diet that includes too much sugar, saturated fat and energy dense foods contributes to ill-health.
"We want to make healthy eating more accessible and affordable for our clients," said CEO Adrian Gore. Under the new initiative, Vitality members will get discounts on fruit and vegetables, fish, foods low in salt and " bad" fats, and unrefined carbohydrates. The items were selected by a panel of scientists chaired by sports science expert Prof Tim Noakes, and will carry a special label to make them easy to identify.
"With all the hype around healthy eating, label reading and conflicting information, we believe consumers are often left confused and unable to make an informed choice when buying food products in a supermarket. With this initiative, we aim to simplify the process and educate consumers," said Gore.
Vitality and Pick n Pay also planned to educate consumers about good nutrition, with a host of initiatives such as cooking demonstrations and healthy shopping lists.
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