Case Study: Productivity and Obesity

Extreme obesity is associated with health-related limitations in the workplace. Extremely obese workers have difficulty performing necessary work functions and struggle to complete work in the expected time due to feeling tired, weak and short of breath.

The loss of productivity in a group of manufacturing workers studied by Gates et al. (1) was significant and equated to $506 per annum in lost productivity per worker. The majority of productivity losses resulted from presenteeism, or compromised performance in the workplace. For a company employing 100 workers, presenteeism caused by obesity could cost more than $6300 per year.

Modest weight loss in obese people can result in significant improvements in performance, saving hundreds of dollars in productivity costs per worker per year.

For more information about Wesley Corporate Health's Project 10 Workplace Weight Loss, call us on 2324 2600.

Reference
1. Gates, D. M., Succop, P., Brehm, B., Gillespie, G.L. & Sommers, B.D. 2008, 'Obesity and presenteeism: the impact of body mass index on workplace productivity', Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol. 50, no. 1

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