News Briefs
May 1, 2006 2 minutes read
Obesity most costly lifestyle health risk
Obesity is a major contributor to employee health costs, responsible for 2% to 3% of all medical claims dollars, a new health research report finds.
Given the high costs of worker obesity, "Weight management programs may be the most appropriate step for employers interested in wellness initiatives," concludes the study by D. Adam Long, PhD, of Gordian Health Solutions in Franklin, TN.
The researchers analyzed five years' worth of data from 61 employee health plans to estimate claims-level medical costs attributable to obesity.
Obesity was responsible for 2.1% of all medical claims dollars for male employees and 2.8% for female employees, the analysis suggested. Of 10 lifestyle health risks considered, obesity was by far the most costlyaccounting for approximately 14% of lifestyle-related health costs for men and 25% for women.
When total costs to the health plan were analyzed, obesity cost $3.55 per member per month (PMPM) for male employees and $5.71 for female employees.
Since these figures did not include all prescription drug costs, the true PMPM cost was likely even higher. Obesity-related costs increased with age. Health costs attributable to obesity varied for different industries, but were particularly high in the health care sector.
Fear of job loss can affect worker health
While it's firmly accepted that your job can impact your health, whether it be from stress or njury, there is new evidence that worrying about losing that job can also have a negative effect on health.
Feeling insecure about your job harms both mental and physical health — whether you actually lose your job or not, according to a study of more than 1000 men and women, one-quarter of whom said they felt insecure about their jobs. The toll taken by job insecurity can be as great as a serious or life-threatening illness, say researchers for the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
These findings suggest employee assistance programs, worksite health care providers, and human resource managers should offer support to employees whose jobs, whether due to performance or budgetary decisions, might be at risk.
People who said they felt insecure about their jobs were about twice as likely to report physical health that was less than very good or excellent than workers who expressed feelings of job security at both interviews.
Private-sector workers were more vulnerable to the negative health effects of job insecurity than public-sector workers.
Job insecurity was especially hard on the well-being of black workers, the study found. Black workers who felt constantly insecure about their jobs were nearly three times as likely as insecure whites and more than four times as likely as secure whites to report very high levels of depressive symptoms.
The findings suggest that there may be worker health repercussions as the result of current trends in the U.S. labor market, such as outsourcing, downsizing and the increase in nonstandard jobs with reduced hours and benefits, the researchers said. Their findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America in Los Angeles.
Obesity is a major contributor to employee health costs, responsible for 2% to 3% of all medical claims dollars, a new health research report finds.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content