There is a strong correlation between the physical health of your employees and the financial health of your company. One health factor, obesity, leads to lost production, greater absenteeism, higher worker’s compensation costs, higher insurance premiums, and so on. And unfortunately for business owners, studies do not indicate that American waistlines are shrinking.

In fact, Americans are getting heavier every day. In a recent analysis of the Industrial Physical Capability Services, Inc., database, 39 percent of the new hire applicants were obese in 2007 compared to just 29 percent in 2000. This represents a 34 percent increase in the obese population. If this trend continues, by 2012, 50 percent of new hire applicants applying to industries in the United States will be obese.

The bad news doesn’t stop there. An even more alarming fact is that America’s younger workers are getting fatter faster compared to older workers. And a greater percentage of the obese population could be categorized as morbidly obese in 2007 than in 2000. The economic impact of these findings is devastating.

The bottom line? You will almost certainly be hiring more overweight associates—men and women with more medical demands and higher costs—in the future. And you will be paying for their obesity-related diseases for longer periods of time. This costly reality cannot bode well for your company’s economic picture.

Find Out What Obesity Is Costing Your Company

So, what do all of these obesity statistics really mean for the economic future of your company? Here’s how to find out: If you know the number of associates employed by your company, you can easily calculate the impact obesity is having on your bottom line. Research has shown that obese individuals add about $1,750 to a company’s healthcare expenses each year. Morbidly obese individuals usually add twice that amount.

Industrial Physical Capability Services, Inc., (IPCS) is able to assess the percentage of new hire applicants that fall into one of five categories:

• Normal weight
• Overweight
• Obesity – Level 1
• Obesity – Level 2
• Morbidly Obese

An article that describes these levels can be found at the following link: What Percentage of Your New Hire Applicants Are Obese? Based on the IPCS analysis, it is possible for you to estimate what your company paid in 2003 and 2007 in additional costs related to obesity and the projected amount you will have to pay in 2012. The increase you’ll see from 2007 to 2012 is not just due to a rise in healthcare costs but is also due to the rapid increase in morbidly obese workers.

Using the Obesity Calculator

Enter the number of employees into the calculator below to compute the direct costs. To estimate the indirect costs of obesity—due to loss of productivity, absenteeism, retraining and so forth—simply indicate the estimated indirect multiple, and the calculation will be done. Indirect costs are normally estimated to be 1 to 20 times direct costs. Since the overall estimate is conservative, no attempt is made to calculate the associated added cost for the overweight individual.

What Is Obesity Costing My Company?