Whole Foods has created a new incentive program for their employees: get yourself healthy and you can receive a bigger discount on Whole Food purchases. The benchmarks for “healthy employees” include Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol level and not smoking.

At face value, it seems like a great idea: inspire the work force to live a little healthier by motivating with discounts. But dig a little deeper and the issue becomes problematic.

My number one issue is BMI. BMI is an individuals height relative to their weight. The concept is that fatter people will have higher BMIs than thinner people. The problem is that BMI doesn’t take into account whether the weight is fat or muscle. So yours truly, who stands at 6’2″ and weighs 195 lb is termed “overweight” according to the BMI, even though much of my 195 lb is muscle and I am in pretty good shape.

BMI is an issue across the board in situations like this. I have had problems with insurance companies not wanting to insure me because my number was too high. And Wii Fit deems it appropriate to make my Mii avatar wander through exercises sporting a bit of a spare tire around the mid-section. Consequently, Whole Food workers who are getting it together and getting fit may not be able to receive the discount simply because, in losing fat weight, they have built up more muscle.

My second issue is that, though Whole Foods is rewarding healthier lifestyles, there doesn’t seem to be a plan in place to help the less fit members of their community into that lifestyle. The incentive program, though generous, might not be impetus enough to inspire those less fit to get their acts together. The frustration of trying to conquer Mount Health is simply greater than the financial prize at the end of the rainbow. (Note: please don’t hit me with the comments that “being healthy should be reward enough.” We’re talking about the incentive program.)

So final score? Whole Foods gets points for trying to do something, anything, to make its workforce healthier. But this is simply Healthy Workers 1.0 and now follow up steps should be taken to assist all the workers to a healthier way of life.