Cost of absenteeism in the US

Just 14% of workforce are neither overweight nor have chronic health condition

A new Gallup–Healthways survey of almost 110,000 full-time workers (working at least 30 hours a week) in the United States has estimated the striking economic burden of absenteeism among those who are overweight or have chronic health conditions.

The poll used a Well-Being Index of self-reported height and weight to calculate BMI, and took note of chronic conditions including major NCDs, high blood pressure or cholesterol or recurring pain in neck, back or legs in the past 12 months. It estimated that the lost productivity among those who are overweight or with a condition is more than $153 billion. Compared with the healthy, normal weight workers – who make up just 14 per cent of full-time employees – those with health and weight issues miss an estimated 450 million extra days of work a year.

Unhealthy days were calculated using answers to a question about how many days in the past month respondents found that poor health kept them from doing usual activities, with the poll indicating that a day of work is missed for roughly every three unhealthy days.

Healthy, normal weight full-time workers averaged 0.34 unhealthy days each month, or about four days per year, with a tiny rise for workers who were overweight with no chronic conditions – but overweight workers with three or more chronic health conditions (about 18 per cent of the workforce) reported an average of about 42 unhealthy days per year.

And it is not just in the United States: the workforce is not much healthier in the United Kingdom – just 20 per cent of employees are neither overweight nor have a chronic condition.

Source: Reuters, 17 October 2011.

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