Deborah Bolland, an administrative assistant living in the Greater Toronto Area, lost 30 pounds over the past year—not an unusual weight-loss stat until you consider that Bolland found the motivation to start, and the tools to continue, from her employer. The company she works for, Pure Metal Galvanizing in Rexdale, Ont., had set up an electronic weight-tracking system called Lifescale, which inspired Bolland and a few of her co-workers to “get serious and do it together,” she says. “The weekly feedback from the system helped me stay on the path.”
Faced with soaring disability claims and knowing the health risks of obesity, more and more employers are taking a page out of Pure Metal’s book and making their employees’ weight their business. They’re rewarding employees for their efforts—and in a few cases in the United States, punishing them for falling short. Nobody seems to be complaining.
Defined as a body mass index (BMI, a measure of height for weight) of 30 or higher, obesity ranges far and wide in its effects on health. Research has established firm links between obesity and high blood pressure, heart disease, and even certain types of cancer. Type 2 diabetes, a disease that takes a particularly high personal and economic toll, affects 12% of obese workers, compared to just 3% of those of normal weight. For every two-pound increase in weight, the risk of developing arthritis increases by 9–13%. All told, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control puts obesity on par with 20 years of aging in terms of its link to chronic health conditions.
At the office, obesity limits the amount and kind of work people can do. A 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) in the United States found 7% of obese workers to have work limitations—more than double the percentage found in normal-weight individuals. In a similar vein, a recent study of more than 11,000 Duke University employees found that the most obese workers (BMI over 40) lost 13 times as many workdays to injuries and other medical issues as their normal-weight counterparts.
On the economic front, companies spend up to 52% more on obese employees than on those of healthy weight. In absolute terms, obesity can add about $1,200 per year to the costs of medical care. With a 2005 Statistics Canada survey finding 23% of Canadian adults obese, workplace initiatives to slim down the workforce stand to benefit many waistlines— and bottom lines.
A natural fit
Employers interested in helping employees shed pounds certainly have a captive audience, as people spend more waking hours in the workplace than anywhere else. The deeper question is: Can employers really influence people’s behaviour? Dr. Michael Vallis, a health psychologist at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, believes they can. “The workplace is a controlled environment and a group environment,” he explains. “The limited freedom and group psychology can harness motivation and perseverance.”
Even off-site workers can take part in employer weightmanagement initiatives. Bruno Allary, senior manager, human resources and work environment, Pfizer Canada, says the company makes some of its weight-management and fitness workshops available online. “We want our fieldbased workers to feel included,” he says. Off-site employees at Pfizer can also set up telephone consultations with a dietitian and partake in various wellness activities at sales meetings, he says.
The great majority of employees, for their part, would seem to welcome a gentle prod from their employers. Eightyone percent of employees who responded to the 2008 sanofi- a ventis Healthcare Survey stated that encouragement or incentives from employers would definitely or likely spur them to improve their diet and exercise regimen, and 14% maintained they had exercised more frequently because their employer encouraged them to do so.
