New CDC Web Site Helps Businesses Address Employee Obesity

The CDC Web site was developed for small and mid-size companies, which typically have more limited resources to devote to obesity prevention efforts. However, the CDC said LEANWorks! can benefit companies of any size. The Web site helps employers calculate the cost of obesity for their organizations and develop specific approaches to help control these costs through interventions, such as fitness classes, lunchtime health education sessions, and weight management programs.

The Web site includes:

• An obesity cost-calculator where employers can input employee demographic data to estimate the total costs associated with obesity and determine annual obesity-related medical costs for their companies.
• Information and resources to help employers plan, build, promote, and assess interventions to combat obesity.
• Information on how employers can estimate return on investment, a measure of the cost of an intervention compared to the expected financial return of the intervention.

CDC visited select businesses to identify promising worksite obesity prevention and control practices. LEANWorks! provides case studies from some of those businesses to offer examples of successful worksite obesity prevention programs.

"Workplace obesity prevention programs can be an effective way for employers to reduce obesity and lower their healthcare costs, lower absenteeism, and increase employee productivity," Dietz says. "Employers may also see other indirect benefits when they implement these programs, such as improved employee morale, increased worker retention, and improved recruitment of new employees."