The most prevalent and costly healthcare issue in America is obesity, and it is on the rise. It is the most common, most expensive, and least address healthcare issue that our workforce faces today. Obesity is one of the leading factors in all degenerative and chronic illnesses including cardiovascular disease and other heart/blood related problems, diabetes, chronic fatigue, etc. Obesity is the number one source of almost every preventable disease imaginable (including some cancers) that are the target of insurance plans. Obesity is costing employers and employees 90% of their healthcare dollars with the other 10% mostly eaten up by smoking related issues.
You profits are cut into by every obese or overweight person you employ. Why? Because the excessive, unhealthy lifestyle that leads to obesity leads to illness and disease that cause absenteeism, workplace injury, low productivity, low employee morale, and high turnover rates, all of which cost your bottom line. The rate of overweight and obese persons is on the rise due to new technologies that allow for a more sedentary lifestyle combined with that fact that people don’t read nutrition labels. Food is more readily available in highly processed, highly fatty, low nutrition content varieties than ever before. People are eating larger portions, and those portions are full of saturated fats, high amounts of salt, and empty calories which don’t get burned. When your employees are not focused on nutrition, fitness, and an active lifestyle, they are putting your company dollars at risk. The amount you pay for health insurance for a workforce that is generally sedentary and overweight is increasing significantly.
Healthcare costs all around the country are being driven up by the high rate of claims made due to the affects of obesity. The typical corporation spends around $7,000 per year per employee on healthcare benefits. That amount is increasing exponentially. In 2008, healthcare spending in the United States reached $2.4 trillion and is projected to more than double in the next eight years. That means in 2016, you will be spending $14,000 per year per employee. In 2008 alone, employers and employees alike saw a 5% increase in the cost of healthcare premiums over the previous year. That’s going to add up and hurt your profits significantly.
Obesity costs your company in other ways than just healthcare costs. Absenteeism due to illnesses and disease brought on by obesity costs corporations thousands of dollars per employee every year. When someone is absent from work you have to pay for their care, for their time away from work, and for someone to take up the slack. In effect, on top of paying for healthcare you are paying two people to do the work of one. Productivity is slowed which costs you even more. What absenteeism costs your company is dependant on what you do about it, but it is a considerable amount.
The best fight against the cost of obesity in your company is to help your employees focus on health, making it a requirements for new hires to have an understanding of health and maintain a healthy lifestyle, and helping your current employees reach and maintain a healthy lifestyle that encourages weight loss through a workplace wellness program. Obesity is not an easy obstacle to hurtle, especially with our society seeped in excessive and unhealthy lifestyles, but it is possible with a concerted effort of your entire workforce to overcome the adverse effects of obesity on your company.