A team of researchers headed by a Duke professor has estimated that obesity costs American employers over $73.1 billion annually through lost productivity and health care costs.
The study, led by Eric Finkelstein, associate research professor at the Duke Global Health Institute, was the first to assess the costs of presenteeism, as well as the costs of health care and absenteeism.
Presenteeism refers to workers’ continued attendance at work despite poor health, rendering them less productive than their co-workers, whereas absenteeism is when workers actually miss work due to illness. According to the study, presenteeism represents over 50 percent of the costs of obese workers.
“I was surprised to know the high costs of presenteeism,” Finkelstein wrote in an e-mail. “It may be because of increased pressure to come to work even when sick given the tight economy.”
Finkelstein—who is also the deputy director for health services and systems research at Duke-National University of Singapore—said the health care legislation passed earlier this year will further increase the impact of these costs.
“The [new health care] plan basically forces employers to offer health insurance,” Finkelstein said. “As a result, they have greater incentives to control these costs.”
Finkelstein suggested companies create incentives for employees to live healthier lifestyles.
“Employers also need to provide environments so that the healthy choice becomes the easy choice,” Finkelstein said. “This is easier said than done though.”
Duke Human Resources offers LIVE FOR LIFE, an employee health promotion program created in 1988, said Libby Gulley, LIVE FOR LIFE nurse manager.
“All our programs are free, but there aren’t any specific monetary incentives for employees to manage their weight,” Gulley added.
The state of North Carolina is also actively trying to reduce the costs of its obese workers.
The N.C. State Health Plan, which provides health care products and services for state employees, has created a Comprehensive Wellness Initiative to help employees with weight loss and management, Anne Rogers, director of integrated health management for the State Health Plan, wrote in an e-mail.
“The Plan offers a wide variety of programs... to help members achieve their weight management goals,” Rogers said.
Effective July 1, 2011, two separate insurance plans will be available to state employees. The 70/30 Basic Plan, offered to all employees, has higher deductibles and co-pays compared to the alternative 80/20 Standard Plan, which is available to employees who are not morbidly obese or do not smoke, Rogers said.
Though the State Health Plan does seek to ensure the health of its members, cost played a role in the initiative, Rogers noted.
Each employee with a body mass index of 35 or more costs the Plan an additional $1,000 per year, Rogers said, adding that such individuals make up about 14 percent of its members.
The estimated savings from the new cost-sharing insurance plans could approach $13 million, Rogers noted.
Finkelstein, who served as a consultant for the State Health Plan’s initiative, said he is not categorically opposed to more stringent measures to shift the burden of the cost to obese workers.
“If [the United States is] to remain competitive, we will need to take drastic actions to confront the obesity epidemic head on,” he said. “I am in favor of testing comprehensive strategies to improve health as long as they give everyone a chance to improve.”
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