Managing Obesity in the Workplace − New Guidance from ACOEM
Posted Tuesday, January 09, 2018 by Press Release
Effective prevention and treatment steps—including coverage for bariatric
surgery, when indicated—can help employers to control the health and economic
impact of obesity in the workplace, according to an ACOEM Guidance Statement,
published in the January Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The statement provides recommendations for employers and health plan designers
to manage obesity among employees. The recommendations were developed by an
ACOEM expert panel, based on 275 selected, high-quality studies of obesity in
the workplace. "Our findings support the use of both lifestyle
modification and bariatric surgery to assist appropriate patients in losing
weight," write ACOEM President and Panel Chair Charles M. Yarborough III,
MD, MPH, and colleagues.
Nearly 38 percent of US adults are obese, including about 40 percent of women
and 35 percent of men. Meanwhile, surveys suggest that most employees do not
have coverage for obesity treatments. In addition to its effects on worker
health and safety, obesity in the workplace has a major impact on health care
costs, absenteeism, and productivity. Annual costs for obesity-related
absenteeism alone are estimated at $8.65 billion.
"The cost of obesity among workers is immense, and the responsibility for
managing it is increasingly falling to employers," Dr. Yarborough and
coauthors write. They cite evidence that work can also be a causal factor for
obesity, with risk factors including social stressors, psychosocial work
factors, working hours, sleep and night shift work, and sedentary behavior.
Based on the evidence, the expert panel provides a set of treatment
recommendations for addressing worker obesity. Treatment recommendations
include implementing workplace wellness programs and behavioral counseling to
aid employees in adopting healthy lifestyles. Based on studies showing health
and economic benefits, the expert panel also recommends that employers offer
insurance coverage and access to bariatric surgery for treatment of obesity.
The recommendations include specific criteria for eligibility for bariatric
surgery.
The Guidance Statement also identifies key areas for further research,
including studies to clarify and maximize the benefits of obesity medications
and bariatric surgery. Dr. Yarborough and colleagues conclude, "As these
interventions may prove cost effective in the long term, a case can be made
that they be covered by insurance."
Mitchell Roslin, MD, Director of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery at Lenox Hill
Hospital, New York, is a coauthor of the new report. "Whereas the impact
of obesity on life expectancy, diabetes, sleep apnea and health care costs are
frequently discussed, the hidden damage and consequences of obesity on the
American work force are less known and incredibly detrimental," Dr. Roslin
comments. "Obesity leads to reduced performance, increased chance of
disability, and greater likelihood for requiring performance waivers for
certain aspects of employment. There is a direct impact on health care costs
and a harder to quantify burden on productivity.
"In this much-needed and sentinel document, specialists from multiple
fields related to obesity and population health management have compiled critical
information from evidence-based studies and made recommendations to begin to
counteract this national epidemic. It is becoming widely known that companies
with healthy employees succeed and have better employee and customer
satisfaction. Obesity is a key determinant of health, yet increasing at
alarming rates. The importance of adding greater awareness and better programs
to combat obesity to the workplace cannot be overstated."
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Citation — Yarborough
CM III, Brethauer S, Burton WN, et al. ACOEM Guidance Statement. Obesity in the
workplace: impact, outcomes, and recommendations. J Occup Environ Med.
2018;60(1):97-107.
Contact — For interviews, contact the ACOEM
Communications Department at info@acoem.org.
About ACOEM — ACOEM (www.acoem.org), an international society of 4,500
occupational physicians and other health care professionals, provides
leadership to promote optimal health and safety of workers, workplaces, and
environments.
About the Journal of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine — The Journal of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine (www.joem.org)
is the official journal of the American College of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine. Edited to serve as a guide for physicians, nurses, and
researchers, the clinically oriented research articles are an excellent source
for new ideas, concepts, techniques, and procedures that can be readily applied
in the industrial or commercial employment setting.