It is all too obvious that obesity inflicts unnecessary pain and suffering on those who willfully immerse themselves in such an unhealthy lifestyle choice. However, it should not be ignored that the woes of being obese reach out beyond the scope of just the individual struggling with a weight problem. This seems to be especially true on the employment level, as a new study released by Duke University has shed further light on why it is so important for companies to constantly encourage healthy living from their staff.
According to the study, worker’s compensation claims and absenteeism are exponentially higher for extremely obese employees (as defined by individuals with a body mass index of over 40) than it is for healthy-weight employees. The discrepancy of the numbers between the two groups is quite alarming. The claim rate for obese workers was more than twice the rate for healthy-weight workers (11.65 claims per 100 full-time individuals to 5.8 claims). The average number of work days lost on a claim was 183.63 for the obese, as opposed to a mere 14.19 for the healthy. As one could guess, this chasm extrapolates into much graver claims costs, as the obese group had an average indemnity claims cost of $59,178, making the $5,396 cost for healthy-weight employees downright puny by comparison. What we can ascertain from these figures is, as a general rule, the rate of recovery from an injury is much longer for an obese person that it is for a healthy one. Consequently, the claims of the obese are more severe, and such contentions would invariably cause their employer’s disability rates to spike, thus resulting in more money required to be spent by companies.
Obviously, statistics such as the ones taken from the study make it harder for companies to ignore the potential impact that could be had if little or no effort is made to advocate healthy living amongst their obese employees, as well as promoting proper health maintenance for their healthy-weight employees. It also crystallizes the need for companies to invest in some sort of wellness program as a means of promotion. It may cost a little to perpetuate such a program, but such a price is much more agreeable when it could make strives in saving a greater amount of money down the road.
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