Despite cost of obesity, employers reluctant to tackle issue

Despite its proven impact on a company’s bottom line, obesity is a subject most employers shy away from addressing (Source: “Waistlines Expand Into a Workplace Issue,” New York Times, June 24, 2008).

According to Kenneth Thorpe, a professor of public health at Emory University, and three colleagues, obesity accounted for 27 percent of the increase in medical costs from 1987 to 2001 and according to a report from the Conference Board and research institute RTI International, it costs companies $45 billion a year.

While many executives seem to appreciate the considerable costs of obese employees, they often determine that it is not cost effective for them to try to address the issue. Given the likelihood that an employee will change jobs within four or five years, many employers believe the cost savings from a healthier employee would actually be reaped by his or her next employer.