Entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to make their business more profitable. They are always looking at making things more efficient. One aspect which has just started to gain momentum is trying to improve the health of your employees. The fact is that employees that are healthier tend to do better and more productive work, and are at work more often.

For many of us who sit in front of a computer screen for hours on end, gaining weight as our diet consists of eating chocolate croissants and washing them down with cup after cup of coffee, there is hope. A new trend is taking shape across the U.S.: company wellness incentives.

According to a CNN Money report: “Employee programs that promote healthy lifestyles with monetary carrots and sticks are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, 46 percent of employers offer incentive-based wellness plans, according to a recent study by Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health, and that proportion is expected to grow to 70 percent by 2009.”

Employers have figured that they can save tons of money by giving financial incentives to keep their workers healthier as employees call in sick much less. This is a classic win/ win situation; employers save money and employees get healthy.

Of course, there are those critics who warn that this could constitute a hostile work environment and is illegal. After all, no one can force an employee to lose weight or lead a healthier lifestyle. To those critics I say, lighten up! (couldn’t resist).

With obesity a growing problem, it seems that employer wellness incentives are going to be more common place.