Health Advocate Releases Obesity White Paper: Strategies and Programs to Reduce Obesity In The Workplace

“Employers spend more than $13 billion annually in medical costs and lost productivity due to obesity - dubbed the world's number one health threat by the CDC. Obese workers are sicker, miss more days of work, are more prone to injury and accidents and incur higher medical costs than employees of average weight. Now, there is a guidepost to help employers address this issue. Health Advocate(TM), the nation's leading independent healthcare advocacy and assistance company, has produced an insightful, fact-based white paper, "Obesity in America: Workplace Solutions". The report details the latest research on the impact of obesity in the workplace, case studies of companies that have implemented successful programs to address this health issue and a how-to list that employers can use to lower healthcare costs. "Our research and experience indicates that employers can offer cost-effective programs in the workplace to help employees with weight problems and also reduce the burgeoning costs associated with the impact of obesity," said Abbie Leibowitz, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Health Advocate, Inc. ‘Employers are making the connection between unhealthy employees, lower productivity and higher costs. And obesity is a major contributor to avoidable health care costs,’ says Tom Wolk, M.D., Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations at Health Advocate. The company's core service helps employees resolve healthcare issues, including finding doctors, specialists and services that often relate to chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease. ‘The volume of calls we receive concerning these issues has increased as the obesity epidemic in America has taken hold,’ Wolk says. The white paper notes that obesity is related to the development of dozens of chronic--and costly diseases -- which account for nearly 75 percent of healthcare spending. What's more, obesity rates have doubled in the past two decades, accounting for nearly 30 percent.”

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