Is the increasing prevalence of overweight and obese workers in the U.S. workforce an Occupational Health & Safety epidemic?
The Challenges of Obesity in the Workplace
Did you know that only 34% of the U.S. population is a normal weight?
It’s true, and that makes 66% of the population overweight or obese. In a 2012 ASSE Safety presentation, ergonomist Vicki Missar called this disturbing trend, “an epidemic for the field of ergonomics.”
According to Missar, increased obesity in the workplace means more arthritis, larger waist circumferences, additional work limitations, compromised grip strength, decreased lower limb mobility and medical risks. Obese employees might be more vulnerable to falls and their manual material handling ability may be compromised. Obesity also can impact self-esteem, motivation, absenteeism, presenteeism, premature mortality and more.
The data overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that overweight and obese individuals are at higher risk for more frequent and severe injuries than their normal weight counterparts:
- Per capita spending for the obese individual is $1,429 higher per year, or roughly 42% more compared to that of someone of normal weight
- According to Workforce Management magazine, obesity costs U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion per year in medical expenditures and worker absenteeism.
- Workforce Management also found that obesity was associated with a 36% increase in health care spending, which is higher than what is associated with spending on smoking
- A Duke University study found that obese individuals experienced more than twice the number of claims than their “recommended weight” employees. (11.65 claims per 100 Full Time Employees compared to 5.8 claims per FTE)
- The Duke study also found that the cost of medical care and indemnity for an obese employee can be nearly seven times that for a recommended weight employee
To make matters worse, if the overweight / obese trend continues …
- 86% of the U.S. population will be overweight by 2030
- 42% of the U.S. population will be obese by 2030
By 2030, only 14% of the U.S. population will be a normal weight.
Wow!
The implications of the obesity trend are huge. If you are an Occupational Health & Safety professional, your internal risk alarm should be sounding off right now, lights flashing and horns blaring.
It’s time to get proactive and take control of the situation before it gets worse.
A Proactive Strategy to Control Risk Factors
What can an employer do to stem the tide of obesity and its spiraling costs?
It’s the same strategy we recommend for clients: implement a complete solution that reduces all risk factors through Workplace Ergonomics and Workplace Athletics.
Workplace Ergonomics:
Improve workplace design to fit within the capabilities and limitations of team members. Workplace ergonomics reduces workplace risk factors.
The anthropometrics of overweight and obese workers brings several ergonomics-related challenges into the workplace:
- A large waist circumference can create additional distances and require an extended reach at the workstation.
- Additional body weight can cause general physical issues such as poor mobility, increased join pain and other challenges while bending, reaching, stooping, lifting, reaching, balancing, and pushing/pulling.
Here are a few ergonomic design considerations for obese workers:
- Evaluate material weight and placement to eliminate material handling exposures (overhead reaching, forward reaching, and low-level lifting).
- Provide the right tools and equipment to accommodate all workers (chairs, supply locations, walking distances, sit vs. stand workstations, anti-fatigue matting, etc.)
- Consider job rotation where engineering controls are cost prohibitive or impractical.
Workplace Athletics:
Coach and train team members to use proper work technique, body mechanics, use good health habits and keep their bodies fit for work. Workplace Athletics reduces individual risk factors.
Books have been written about the causes and challenges of obesity, so I won’t go into the full details here. The simple truth is that by practicing good health habits, your people can (and should) maintain a healthy weight and reduce individual risk factors that lead to more frequent and more severe injuries.
A Workplace Athletics program teaches team members to maintain good health habits, keep their bodies fit for work and use their bodies properly to accomplish their work.
This process is best led by a Workplace Athletic Trainer, a preventative health care professional specifically trained in injury prevention and human performance.
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