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Obesity linked to 9% of all workplace absenteeism costs
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More than 9% of all workplace absenteeism costs, a total of $8.65 billion per year, can be attributed to obesity, according to recent study findings published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Tatiana Andreyeva, PhD, of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, and colleagues evaluated data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n=14,975) for 1998 to 2008 and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n=182,227) for 2012 to determine obesity-attributable absenteeism costs to health and to the states.
Participants were divided in to five weight categories, including normal weight (BMI, ≤18.5 to <25 kg/m2), overweight (BMI, ≤25 to <30 kg/m2), obesity I category (BMI, ≤30 to <35 kg/m2), obesity II category (BMI, ≤35 to <40 kg/m2) and obesity III category (BMI, ≥40 kg/m2).
There was a small and statistically insignificant difference for missed workdays because of health issues between normal-weight and overweight participants; this difference remained the same when researchers adjusted for sex. Participants in the obesity III category were 44% more likely to miss workdays because of health issues compared with normal-weight participants. Similarly, participants in the obesity II category and obesity I category were more likely to miss workdays compared with normal-weight participants (40% vs. 27.4%).
The obesity I category had additional annual costs of $174 to $289 per employee, whereas the obesity II category additional costs ranged from $256 to $424 and obesity III category additional costs ranged from $280 to $465. Overall, the US total loss in productivity was $8.65 billion per year, for an obesity-attributable fraction rate of 9.3%.
“Obesity-attributable costs of absenteeism are substantial and impose a considerable financial drain on states,” the researchers wrote. “… On top of substantial health care expenditures and other indirect costs in the workplace and elsewhere, obesity imposes a significant economic burden on the US economy and society at large.”
Investigators said more researcher is needed to understand “the direct and indirect costs of obesity at the state level and to enable reliable cost–benefit analysis of state legislative proposals to address obesity.”
“It is important to further discuss how these costs vary across employers, employees, industries and what policies prove effective in reducing productivity loses of obesity,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by the National Cancer Institute.
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