"Obesity has a severe economic and personal impact on individuals and affects how much money you make and your healthcare costs while it shortens your life" (Dukan).
Source: The Weight of the Fox Valley According to MarketWatch, people who are overweight are less likely to participate in the stock marker, which has direct negative implications on the world and U.S. economies (MarketWatch).
Image Source: BioIntelligentWellness Aside from increased medical spending, corporations are paying a hefty price for weight-attributed absenteeism. According to Reuters, obesity-related absenteeism costs employers as much as $6.4 billion a year (Reuters).
Image Source: Softworks Ltd. |
Workplace Health Promotion programs could be a one-stop shop to fixing the costly indirect consequences that obesity has on the U.S. economy.
Companies can now serve their own economic interests by promoting wellness in the workplace, while making America a healthier and better Nation. It is estimated that the US annual expediters attributed to obesity related illnesses tally up to as high as $209.7 billion annually (in 2008 dollars) (Apovian). Additionally, the obesity rate in the United States can cost individual corporations up to millions of dollars in lost revenue per year. In fact, the indirect effect of obesity on the corporate pocket might just have been the best thing that happened to the obesity epidemic. Companies can now serve their own economic interests by promoting wellness in the workplace, while making America a healthier and better Nation. Kevin Harrington, an American entrepreneur, champions the benefits of wellness programs in his piece in the Forbes Magazine, preaching that overall, wellness programs improve the bottom line of business. WHP programs are essentially a win-win situation; the corporation benefits from increased savings and the employee benefits from lower medical spending and healthcare costs. If you factor in their positive impact on the economy, these programs are a win-win-win situation (Harrington). The WHP program has worked wonders for the pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson as well. According to the Harvard Business Review, Johnson & Johnson’s leaders estimate that over the past decade WHP programs have saved the company $250 million in medical health care costs alone. Factoring in the decrease in absenteeism and increase in productivity the annual savings is even larger (Berry, et al.). The Johnson & Johnson leaders report than from 2002 to 2008, they saw a return of $2.71 for every $1.00 spent on these programs. J&J isn’t just a diamond in the rough. When it comes to saving money, these programs work (Berry, et al. ). Non-profit hospital systems can also stand to benefit from these programs as well. Baptist Health South Florida established a Wellness Advantage Program that has been supported by its management and board, and for good reason, seeing as the program’s effects improve every year. This hospital offers all employees Weight Watchers at Work programs, and asks all employees to participate in free “health checks.” As incentive, the hospital rewards employees that participate in the health checks with a $10,000 “survivors benefit” (similar to life insurance). Additionally, the company offers up to a $500 reimbursement for Weight Watchers participants that reach and maintain their goal weight. For these WHP program participants medical costs dropped 40 percent over 4 years, and saved the hospital over $1 million (Heinen and Darling). Through increasing the health of the workforce as well as improving the U.S. economy WHP programs prove to be too effective not to implement. The harsh truth is that healthy employees cost less, and companies cannot survive without generating revenue. |
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Apovian, C. "The Clinical and Economic Consequences of Obesity." 2013. Accessed 16 May 2019.
Harrington, Kevin. “Corporate Wellness: How Health Improves The Bottom Line.” Forbes Magazine, 14 May 2015. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Berry, Leonard L, et al. What's the Hard Return on Employee Wellness Programs? Harvard Business Review, December 2010. Accessed 16 May 2019.
Heinen, Luann., and Darling, Helen. "Addressing Obesity in the Workplace: The Role of Employers." Milbank Quarterly, vol. 87, no. 1, Mar. 2009, pp. 101-122. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00549.x. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Harrington, Kevin. “Corporate Wellness: How Health Improves The Bottom Line.” Forbes Magazine, 14 May 2015. Accessed 16, May 2019.
Berry, Leonard L, et al. What's the Hard Return on Employee Wellness Programs? Harvard Business Review, December 2010. Accessed 16 May 2019.
Heinen, Luann., and Darling, Helen. "Addressing Obesity in the Workplace: The Role of Employers." Milbank Quarterly, vol. 87, no. 1, Mar. 2009, pp. 101-122. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00549.x. Accessed 16, May 2019.