Final answer:
The best justification for continuing a wellness program is showing reduced health risk scores among participants, as it reflects significant improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors and overall health benefits.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best way to justify continuing a wellness program would be to demonstrate that the participants reduced their health risk scores. This is because evidence-based behavioral recommendations strongly suggest that a combination of dietary changes, increased physical activity, and behavioral modifications leads to significant health benefits, including weight loss and a lower risk for type 2 diabetes. Reduction in health risk scores would directly indicate improvements in health conditions like blood lipid levels and insulin sensitivity, which are linked to obesity-related health problems.
Improvements in such cardiometabolic risk factors are more telling than just weight loss or protein intake since they demonstrate a reduced likelihood of developing serious health issues. Wellness programs that can prove a reduction in health risk scores showcase their ability to effect meaningful, positive changes in participants' health over time, making a strong case for their continuation.