The heavy, heavy burden of obesity: obesity increases the cost of workers' compensation claims and the risk of traumatic workplace injuries, new surveys show

Risk & Insurance, Dec, 2007 by Joshua Clifton

Employer-sponsored weight-loss and maintenance programs should be considered as part of a well-rounded workplace safety plan, according to authors of the Advance Access study recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The researchers used medical and injury surveillance data on hourly workers employed in eight plants of the same aluminum manufacturer to determine whether increased BMI was a risk factor for workplace injury.

The plants were scattered across the United States. BMI was calculated using National Institutes of Health criteria. Employees were grouped into five categories: underweight, normal, overweight, obesity levels I and II, and obesity level III.

Of the 7,690 workers included in the study, 29 percent were injured at least once between Jan. 2, 2002, and Dec. 31, 2004. Approximately 85 percent of the injured workers were classified as overweight or obese. More than 28 percent of injuries occurred among employees classified as overweight, 30 percent in the obese I and II category, and almost 34 percent in the obese III category.

The severely obese group, which had a BMI of greater than 40, also had the most injuries to the hand/wrist/finger at 22 percent when compared to the same injuries in the other weight categories. Almost 10 percent of all injuries in the obese III group were to the leg/knee, compared to 7 percent of workers classified as overweight, which was the next highest injury rate.

"We know that obesity prevention policies and programs in the workplace are important simply because of likely improvements in employee health," Pollack says. "What we do not know is if obesity prevention in the workplace will also have the added benefit of improving injury rates and reducing lost work time. Evaluations of worksite health promotion and obesity prevention efforts should measure changes not only in employee health, but also traumatic injury."

The researchers say that more work will be needed to test the effectiveness for reducing weight among hourly, nonoffice employees who face a number of barriers to participating in work-site physical activity programs, such as the need to remove protective clothing for midday exercise and a lack of time because of additional employment or home responsibilities.

@ On the Web

* Duke on obesity's effects on the cost of claims.

* Drilling down into the increase in traumatic injury risk at Johns Hopkins.

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Offer Support to Encourage Obese Workers to Lose Weight

Obesity is being touted as the next epidemic in the United States. With more than 65 percent of the American population of adults considered either overweight or obese, chances are many employees at your company also struggle with their weight. These obese individuals are more likely to miss days from work due to illness and are more likely to suffer from medical conditions that will tax your company's already skyrocketing medical premiums.

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Although making a decision to lose weight and live a health life is ultimately up to the employee, companies can help encourage employees to improve their health in many ways. Some strategies used by other companies to promote healthy living and weight loss include: