Overweight Employees and Insurance Premiums

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

From the 'Are You Serious?' Department: Overweight Employees and Insurance Premiums

Some companies are actually starting to concern themselves with their overweight employees' eating habits. Since employees who are overweight theoretically have more health problems, they cost companies more in health insurance premiums. So it makes sense, according to this logic, to encourage heavier employees to trim down a smidge.

It may sound nutty, but articles in USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune have discussed this topic in recent months, and apparently companies are starting to try it out. All of which means that you might find yourself stuck with designing or even delivering training on healthier lifestyles (read: losing weight). Tom Gilliam, who has written and self-published a book on the topic (Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy, T. Gilliam and Associates LLC, 2005), has a few helpful suggestions.

• Be honest with people about the impact of their excess weight.
Not a bad idea, but it might be helpful to research that impact and make sure you're not just talking a company line. Nobody will want to hear the news you're bringing, and if you can't show data to prove it's true, you'll probably end up looking like a company shill.
• Teach employees the basics of weight loss.
• Commit to helping them lose weight.
Gilliam suggests structured programs. (Coincidentally, he has his own program, called "Move It. Lose It. Live Healthy.") And programs such as Weight Watchers work with a lot of companies and there's usually a nearby weigh-in site.
• Offer incentives.
"People like working toward a concrete reward," says Gilliam. "Be creative. Make it fun." Gilliam also suggests that you should also monitor and reward those who have normal BMIs (body-mass indexes) and maintain healthy weights year after year. Yikes.
• Get your employees excited about good nutrition.
Good luck with this one. If you have to do this, it does make sense to make the workplace as friendly as possible to healthy eating. But you may have a riot on your hands if you try his suggestion about vending machines: "Don't forget to remove all 'junk food' from the premises." He adds, "It's hard to stay on track when vending machines packed with grease and sugar and trans-fatty acids beckon with their sinister glow."

• Foster and encourage exercise groups.
Learning is social, and so is sticking to a routine.
• Link weight loss to larger family issues.
Gilliam suggests that you can "use guilt to motivate people by suggesting that their kids are learning bad eating habits by watching them." All we can say is: Proceed with plenty of caution. It's a sensitive enough topic without bringing guilt into the mix.

Blogged on 12:29 PM by Upay

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