Obesity epidemic raises risk of illness, work injury
America's obesity epidemic continues to expand at the waistline, raising the issues of both chronic disease and job safety in obese workers. The proportion of U.S. adults who self report they are obese increased nearly 2% between 2005 and 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An estimated 25.6% of U.S. adults reported being obese in 2007 compared to 23.9% in 2005, an increase of 1.7%. The report also finds that none of the 50 states or the District of Columbia has achieved the Healthy People 2010 goal to reduce obesity prevalence to 15% or less.
"The epidemic of adult obesity continues to rise in the United States, indicating that we need to step up our efforts at the national, state and local levels," says William Dietz, MD, director of CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. "We need to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables, engage in more physical activity and reduce the consumption of high calorie foods and sugar sweetened beverages."
In three states Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee the prevalence of self-reported obesity among adults age 18 or older was above 30%. Colorado had the lowest obesity prevalence at 18.7%. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. BMI is calculated using height and weight. For example, a 5-foot, 9-inch adult who weighs 203 pounds would have a BMI of 30, thus putting this person into the obese category. The data were derived from CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a state-based telephone survey that collects information from adults aged 18 years and older. For this survey more than 350,000 adults are interviewed each year, making BRFSS the largest telephone health survey in the world. BMI was calculated based on this self-reported information.
Obesity increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions. These include:
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
- Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
- Type 2 diabetes
- Coronary heart disease
- Stroke
- Gallbladder disease
- Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
- Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
The cost of obesity in full-time employees is substantial. One study estimated that excess annual medical costs for men range from $162 for those with BMI of 25.029.9 to $1524 for those with BMI of 40.0.1 Excess annual absenteeism costs ranged from $6 to $440 for those groups. For women, annual medical costs range from $474 for those with BMI of 25.029.9 women to $1302 for those with BMI of 40.0. Excess annual absenteeism costs ranged from $94 to $812 for those groups. Based on the typical prevalence of overweight and obesity among employed people, these risk factors account for $277,000 in medical costs and absenteeism in a typical firm with 1000 employees. Obese employees are also at increased risk on for occupational injuries, triggering compensation claims and potential staffing problems. In a study that examined the distribution and odds of occupational injury among hourly employees of a US aluminum manufacturing, researchers found that approximately 85% of injured workers were classified as overweight or obese.2 The odds of injury in the highest obesity group as compared with the ideal body mass index group were 2.21, even after adjustment for sex, age, education, smoking, physical demands of the job, plant process and location, time since hire, time in the job, and significant interaction terms. Injuries to the leg or knee were especially prevalent among members of this very obese group.
References
1. Finkelstein E, Fiebelkorn I, Wang G. The costs of Obesity Among Full-time Employees American Journal of Health Promotion, July 2005 Available on line at: http://www.healthpromotionjournal.com/publications/journal/ib2005-09.htm.
2. Pollack KM, Sorock GS, Slade MD, et al. Association between Body Mass Index and Acute Traumatic Workplace Injury in Hourly Manufacturing Employees. Am. J. Epidemiol.2007; 166: 204 - 211.
America's obesity epidemic continues to expand at the waistline, raising the issues of both chronic disease and job safety in obese workers.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