Case Studies and Research

Two new studies lend weight to the already hefty argument that medical problems associated with obesity take a bite out of businesses' bottom lines.

• Medical costs for obese employees outweigh those of healthy weight employees by 77%, according to a new white paper by Michigan-based health coaching company Leade Health. Medical costs associated with obesity cost U.S. businesses about $8,720 per patient per year.
• Obese workers also experience more work limitations due to their condition. Nearly 7% of obese employees reported difficulties doing their work, as opposed to just 3% of workers with a healthy weight.
• A recent obesity study by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine ranked obesity as No. 1 on a list of 10 major health risks.
• The analysis of five years' worth of medical data from 61 health plans attributed 2% to 3% of all health claims dollars to medical issues associated with obesity. For men, obesity generated 14% of lifestyle-related health costs; for women the percentage rose to a full quarter, the ACOEM study found.

Both studies suggest weight management programs offer the best course of action for employers.

Prediabetes and Alzheimer's Disease

From a USA Today article by Kathleen Fackelmann

Prediabetes is a "silent" condition which can put otherwise healthy seniors at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study conducted by Weili Xu and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

The link between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's had been established in previous studies, but this new study suggests that the risk of Alzheimer's begins for people with slightly elevated blood sugar levels even before diabetes is typically diagnosed.

Xu says weight loss and exercise can bring down slightly elevated blood-sugar levels and can often stave off diabetes. And this research suggests they'll get a bonus: protection from Alzheimer's.

Click here to read the USA Today article

Information is from BenefitNews.com
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