Promoting healthy lifestyles

Electrical Apparatus, Jul 2004

Some companies are taking new measures to get workers to slim down, according to the National Business Group on Health, which estimates that obesity costs U.S. businesses $12.7 billion a year in medical costs, lost productivity, disability, and sick leave..

To combat this, reports CFO magazine, employees have added such healthy living options as better food choices in the company cafeteria, on-site fitness centers, and access to weight-loss programs. But the major change has been on the incentive side. Where companies a few years ago offered T-shirts or mugs, now they're offering cash, says a principal at Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Some firms give discounts on health insurance to workers in weight-loss programs and, conversely, increase the deductible for those that don't.

A Cincinnati firm, SparkPeople, Inc., offers employees annual bonuses up to $1,000 if they meet weekly fitness targets. An official says the firm's sick-day rate is "almost non-existent." Sprint Corp. has added slower elevators and appealing stairways to encourage exercise at the Overland Park, Kan., headquarters.

Mercer Consulting estimates a program can reduce health care costs by as much as 5%.

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