Impact of childhood obesity on employers.
The impact of childhood obesity on the workplace is not well understood. A study conducted for one large employer indicated that average per capita health insurance claims costs were as high as $2,907 in 2008 for an obese child and $10,789 for a child with type II diabetes. The average claims cost for children with type II diabetes actually exceeded the level of the average claims cost for adults with type II diabetes ($8,844). This paper reviews the evidence on the impact of childhood obesity on employers and discusses opportunities for business engagement-including two current examples of activities involving employers.
Sepulveda
Martin-J
MJ
Human Resources, Integrated Health Services, IBM Corporation, Somers, New York, USA. mjs851@us.ibm.com
Tait
Fan
F
Zimmerman
Edward
E
Edington
Dee
D
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000209:etiology; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007344:Insurance Claim Reporting / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D014481:United States