“Study: The Heavier the Employees, the Heftier the Health Care Costs”

The above title was the headline from an article that appeared on EHS Today online.  The article gave an overview of a study conducted by Duke Medicine (Duke National University of Singapore) researchers that found the costs associated with medical and prescription drug claims gradually rose with each unit increase in BMI (body mass index), specifically the increases began with a BMI above 19 (A healthy or normal BMI is 19 to 24, while overweight is 25 to 29 and obese is 30 and above, i.e.a 5-foot-6-inch person who weighs 117.5 pounds has a BMI of 19, while a person of the same height weighing 279 pounds has a BMI of 45).  The findings of this study may be just the right reason for companies to focus on the health and wellness of their employees.

Here are a few key tidbits from the article:

• The lead author of the study was quoted as saying, “Our findings suggest that excess fat is detrimental at any level”.
• Measuring costs related to doctors’ visits and prescriptions, the researchers observed that the prevalence of obesity-related diseases increased gradually across all BMI levels.
• In addition to diabetes and hypertension – the two diseases most commonly associated with being overweight or obese – the rates of nearly a dozen other disease categories also grew with increases in BMI.
• The average annual health care cost for a person with a BMI of 19 was found to be $2,368; this grew to $4,880 for a person with a BMI of 45 or greater.

The bottom line for employers:  Employers will pay the majority of the healthcare costs for obese employees directly or indirectly—through higher health insurance premiums, work-related injuries, absence from work (work or non-work related), etc.