ACOEM Guidance Warns About Costs of Obesity

Employers pay a high price for worker obesity, whether it’s from elevated employee medical costs, more absences from work or an increase in workplace injuries, according to the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. And in a guidance statement published this month, ACOEM is recommending that employers take steps to reduce or prevent obesity among employees, such as implementing workplace wellness programs, offering behavioral counseling or even providing coverage for bariatric surgery in some cases. “The cost of obesity among workers is immense, and the resp...