Obesity leads to lost productive time
Lost productive time associated with excess weight in the US workforce. Ricci JA, Chee E. J Occup Environ Med. 2005. 47: 1227-1234.
Aim
To examine health-related lost productive time (LPT) in overweight and obese workers.
Looked at
National telephone survey between September 2002 and May 2003 of 6,894 employed adults aged between 18 and 65 years.
How?
LPT was calculated as the sum of both self-reported absent time per week for health reasons and self-reported productivity loss per week for health reasons.
Risk criteria
Based on body mass index (BMI) categorised as: i) underweight (BMI 18.5 kg/m2), ii) normal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg/m2), iii) overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9 kg/m2), and iv) obese (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2).
Results
- 2,868 (42%) respondents were of normal weight, 2,490 (36%) were overweight, and 1,536 (22%) were obese.
- Obese workers reported higher LPT than overweight and normal weight workers and had reduced performance while at work.
- The estimated excess annual cost of health-related LPT attributable to obesity for US employers was US$11.7 billion. Absenteeism comprised only a third of the total obesity-related LPT costs.
What does this mean?
Productivity could rise if companies focus on reducing excess weight in the workforce.