“Just because you’re not sick doesn’t mean you’re healthy.”Â
Author Unknown
I just returned from a trip speaking and visiting my strategic business partners in Spain. I couldn’t get over the contrast in waist lines between leaders in the US and in Spain.
Being overweight has become a big issue for companies in the US. The Conference Board, a business research group, finds that obese employees cost U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion annually in medical expenditures and work loss:
Obesity is associated with a 36-percent increase in spending on healthcare services, more than smoking or problem drinking. More than 40 percent of U.S. companies have implemented obesity-reduction programs, and 24 percent more said they plan to do so in 2008.
Rand, the nonprofit research institution in Santa Monica, last year released a research report showing obesity contributes more to higher costs for medication and health care services than smoking or alcoholism. The number of obese Americans grew by 60 percent between 1991 and 2000. (Rand)
Employers spend 77% more on prescription drugs for the seriously overweight (Helen Darling, WBGH)
It’s good to see that some countries are doing something about the increasing waist line. Under a national law that came into effect several months ago, companies and local governments must measure the waistlines of Japanese workers between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups.
Those exceeding government limits(33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women), will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years and 25 percent over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets.
Guess I better put in a few extra miles each week on my daily runs before I go over to visit our Japanese strategic business partner….Be well….
[tags]obesity, BMI, overweight, health promotion, wellness, depression, sleep disorders, fatigue countermeasures, dieting, stress, health, job burnout, envisia learning, kenneth nowack, ken nowack, nowack[/tags]
Ken Nowack
Kenneth Nowack, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist (PSY13758) and President & Chief Research Officer/Co-Founder of Envisia Learning, is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Ken also serves as the Associate Editor of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. His recent book Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don’t Get It is available for free for a limited time by signing up for free blog updates (Learn more at our website)
