By Andrea Pelin,
Project Weight Loss Editor in Chief
January 16, 2008Employees who are moderately to extremely obese may be at risk of being avoided by employers due to a perception that they have a lower productivity at work compared to other employees who are only overweight or mildly obese, according to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The researchers focused on different aspects of productivity of almost 340 manufacturing employees. The participants were chosen randomly and most of them were overweight or obese. Twenty-three percent of them had a body mass index (BMI) between thirty and 34.9, thirteen percent of them had a BMI higher than thirty-five, while forty-three percent of the subjects had a BMI between twenty-five and 29.9 and were classified as overweight.
The results showed that people who were moderate to extreme obese had limitations concerning their ability to face physical work demands and the time needed to complete work tasks. The limitations were significantly greater compared to overweight or mildly obese participants, according to lead author Dr. Donna Gates.
These limitations may be caused by difficulties of movement because of increased body size or increased rate of pains due to arthritis or other conditions. The researchers noticed that workers with extreme obesity also present increased health-related absenteeism, compared to the other employees.
Considering the average hourly wage of $21, the costs of presenters in case of moderate to obese workers can reach $1,800. These costs are about $500 higher than for overweight employees.
However, the costs due to lost productivity may be reduced if employers accept workplace programs targeting obesity. Even modest weight loss can improve productivity and yield substantial economic benefits, according to Dr.Gates.
Dealing with this issue through workplace programs would certainly be much better than avoiding it by turning obese applicants away - for both employers, employees, and the society at large. This problem won't go away unless it is properly addressed. Turning away potentially valuable employees because they have a health problem - obesity - is misguided; on the other hand, it is fair to expect that job applicants be up to the job.
This study only shows how serious a problem obesity has become, and how widespread its consequences can be.
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Project Weight Loss. All rights reserved.
