Behavior Change and Health News


Physical Activity Can Reduce Employers’ Health Care Costs

A new study finds that obese employees have higher health care costs, but they could reduce those expenses by being physically active just a few times a week.

Researchers at the University of Michigan studied 23,500 workers at General Motors. GM employees completed a health risk questionnaire, which included questions about frequency of physical activity and body mass index (BMI), a measure of height to weight. They compared the results to health care claims from the same time period.

About 70% of the study group at GM was overweight or obese. Obese employees who were not active averaged about $3,000 per year in health care costs. Among all workers who were not active, health care costs went up by at least $100 per year.

The researchers found that if GM could get their sedentary, obese employees to increase their activity and become moderately active, even without weight loss, the company could save an estimated $500 per person. Moderate activity was defined as at least 20 minutes of physical activity on two or more days of the week.

GM could save about $790,000 a year by getting their most sedentary, obese workers to be active. Company-wide, GM could potentially save $7.1 million per year.

Benefits of Increased Physical Activity
According to several studies reviewed by Health Canada, encouraging employees to be more active has other benefits in addition to saving money in health care costs.

Change caused by increased

Change caused by increased

physical activity levels

Benefit to employees

Benefit to employers

Increased productivity

Physical activity boosts the immune system and reduces the effect of chronic diseases such as arthritis and heart disease. This reduces the need to use sick days.

 

Less absenteeism means more work gets done.

Increased employee satisfaction

Studies show that active employees report higher job satisfaction than inactive employees.

Happy employees means less job turnover. Employees are less likely to take a job at another company.

 

Decreased workers’ compensation payouts

Active employees have fewer injuries. When accidents do occur, physically active employees tend to have injuries that heal faster than injuries to inactive employees.

 

Fewer accidents and injuries means less money spent on workers’ compensation claims.

Increased profitability

When employers save money on health care costs (as described earlier), they have more money to spend on benefits, salaries, wellness programs, and other projects that employees value.

Decreased spending on health care costs means an improvement in the bottom line and more money available for growth.

 

 

Offering the Active Living Every Day course at worksites is one way to reach out to the sedentary employees who most need to increase their physical activity. Active Living Every Day is a realistic program that focuses on the root causes of inactivity. Participants learn to overcome their barriers to physical activity by learning practical lifestyle skills. Contact Active Living Partners at 217-351-5076 ext 2522 to learn how you can provide Active Living Every Day as a cost-effective, proven method of helping people become more active and healthy.

Sources

MSNBC Health. Exercise lowers employers’ health costs. Washington, DC: Reuters. May 14, 2004. www.msnbc.msn.com

Health Canada. The impact of active living at work initiatives. Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living. www.hc-sc.gc.ca

Wang, Feifei, et al. Relationship of body mass index and physical activity to health care costs among employees. Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine 46 (5): 428-436, May 2004.





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