Making Obesity Everybody’s Business: What is the Employer’s Role?

摘要

The economic burden to the United States economynthat results from overweight and obesity is staggering.nThis cost has been estimated at 9.1% of total medicalnexpenditures in 1998—the equivalent of $92.6 billion mea-nsured in 2002 dollars.n1n This does not account for indirectncosts of obesity associated with disability and lost produc-ntivity; these are equal to, if not greater than, direct medicalncosts. In 2006, Loeppke et al.n2n estimated that health-relatednproductivity costs associated with a broad range of diseasesnand health conditions, including obesity, were four timesngreater than direct medical and pharmacy costs.