Obesity costs companies' bottom line

NW Cable News ^ | 07/17/03 | PHOEBE LEONG

[bedolido]

SEATTLE - Some of the nation's largest companies, struggling to provide expensive health insurance to employees, are targeting obesity as a way to reduce their bottom lines.

According to an estimate by the Washington, D.C.-based Washington Business Group on Health, a lobbying firm, obesity costs companies more than $12 billion per year. This cost is due to higher health insurance costs, paid sick leave, life insurance and disability insurance.

“Obesity has a devastating impact on the health of employees and, by extension, on their employers,” explained Vince Kerr, a physician and Director of Health Care Management at Ford Motor Company, a member of the group.

KING The group set up an institute, consisting of corporations and federal health agencies, to help corporate America reduce the impact of obesity and weight-related conditions in the workplace.

According to a press statement, Helen Darling, President of Washington Business Group on Health said, “Research has shown that the overall impact of obesity on health and costs outweighs even that of smoking.”

As a result, she says, companies in America cannot afford to ignore the problem of obese and overweight employees.

But the issue is being ignored.

In Seattle, some companies provide employees with free snacks or beverage.

Microsoft, for example, provides its employees with free soda in the buildings and cafeteria.

According to former employees of Microsoft, the company is also known to provide free pizza during its workshops.

But pizza is high on carbohydrates, and considered unhealthy by some medical experts such as Dr. Atkins who considers carbohydrates to be unhealthy.

An ex-employee of Microsoft, Gabrielle Brown, said that Microsoft is typical of many hi-tech companies that provide free snacks and pizza to its employees. The food may be unhealthy, but it’s popular among employees.

"I didn't like the snacks," Brown told KING5.com. "I think it's awful when people are subjected to unhealthy food, even if it's part of a celebratory event. They would provide these snacks for meetings, launches, workshops and seminars."

[bedolido]

Doughnuts are typically offered to employees during their working hours by companies.

[Support Free Republic]

A Recall AND a Fundraiser? I'm toast.

Let's get this over with FAST. Please contribute!

[ItsOurTimeNow]

There's a Government Sponsored Food Regulation Program storm brewing...

[laweeks]

"Washington Business Group on Health"

Where in the world do these groups come from and what are their credentials? My God, why don't they get jobs and leave people alone. Where in the world did they get those ridiculous figures? Affirmative action and EPA regulations cost proven billions, but I don't see any busy-body group trying to stop those.

Do these maroons think we killed the Kaiser in WWI and beat Adolph and Tojo by running around measuring waistlines and pulling cigarettes out of the mouths of our incredible factory workers? "Washington Business Group on Health" sounds like a "stink" tank that people like Denny Kucinich wind up in when they are booted out of office and can't find jobs. Lord help us!

[joesnuffy]

"Round Up" all the fat heffs & heiffers
and put them all in camps
large camps..
Forced labor will reduce the herd

[truth_seeker]

"KING The group set up an institute, consisting of corporations and federal health agencies, to help corporate America reduce the impact of obesity and weight-related conditions in the workplace."

Among the issues to be studied:

They get sick and/or die more often than their slimmer workmates. This drives up employee insurance costs.

They move too slowly, costing valuable production.

They take up more space, driving costs up unnecessarily.

They are basically unsightly, harming comapanies in the marketing and PR aspects of business.

[SoDak]

If they want to really cut costs, they can get rid of anyone who is married and in their reproductive years. I'm 37, and I haven't EVER put in an health insurance claim, but I've helped pay for a lot of other people's kid's sniffles, costing me a hell of a lot more than fat co-workers. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-kid or anti-family or anything, but but picking out certain people like smokers or fat people is not right. I can find a laundry list of crap I pay for but don't use, as anyone else can. If this is the way we, as a country, want to handle things, I want to opt out of a hell of a lot of things I pay for.

[Sloth]

I would bet that, like smoking, obesity leads to early death & consequently a LOWER net health care cost.

[glorgau]

I'm 37, and I haven't EVER put in an health insurance claim,

You've never gotten your teeth cleaned? :-)

[glorgau]

I'm 37, and I haven't EVER put in an health insurance claim,

You've never gotten your teeth cleaned? :-)

[lelio]

I think the "solution" for this is for the US to move to individuals getting health insurance instead of it coming from your employer. The employer gives you $300 or so a month that should go into it.
That way people won't look at their smoking or fat coworkers and think that they're costing the company money. Plus it makes it so that people can migrate to insurance plans that best suit their needs, instead of the 1 or 2 their employer offers. Also you don't have to stay in a job you don't like just for the insurance.
The free market can take care of this.

[wideminded]

The best engineer I have ever known is overweight. I would imagine that the profits various companies have made as a direct result of employing him outweigh the extra medical costs he has engendered by a factor of at least 1000 and probably much more.

[ServesURight]

Isn't there a couple of threads out there that totally debunks the obesity lie?

[bedolido]

The best engineer I have ever known is overweight. I would imagine that the profits various companies have made as a direct result of employing him outweigh the extra medical costs he has engendered by a factor of at least 1000 and probably much more.

I've had several life threatening events happen to me over the past 3 years. I work for a major food retailer designing computer systems. My health insurance has paid out almost $400,000 and is still paying. I'm average weight and height, low cholestral and exercise (when my wife nags me too). I work with several morbidly obese people. I don't think any of them have missed a days work due to illness in the past several years.

[SoDak]

I have, every 6 months, and paid cash. No dental plan.

[SoDak]

I totally agree.

[quietolong]

How much is AIDS and sodomites costing the health care system and government?
No mention of that. Can you see the uproar if They replaced the word Obesity with Homosexual.
>>>> obesity costs companies more than $12 billion per year <<<<<
What a load of BS. More junk science.

[brewcrew]

...I'm not anti-kid or anti-family or anything, but but picking out certain people...

What about the cost to employers of people who s-s-stutter?

[pabianice]

Stupidity costs far more. But I think it unlikely that mass firings will occur at The New Marx Times or The Boston Glob...

[SoDak]

Yep, our best salesman looks like a young Santa Claus. He outproduces the other 5 reps singlehandedly, and he's newer than every one of them.