Work loss among privately insured employees with overweight and obesity in the United States

Abstract Background Rising obesity rates in the workforce are accompanied by a hidden cost burden to employers due to work productivity loss. Understanding the impact of obesity on work productivity is essential for employers to provide tailored weight loss interventions in the workplace. Objectives To measure work loss and associated productivity costs among employees with overweight/obesity compared with employees with normal weight. Methods This retrospective cohort study used the Merative TM MarketScan® Health and Productivity Management Database to identify adult employees with ≥1 diagnosis code reporting a body mass index (BMI) between 1/1/2015‐12/31/2019. Based on the earliest BMI, employees were assigned to normal weight (BMI 19–24. 9), overweight (BMI 25–29. 9), obesity class 1 (BMI 30–34. 9), obesity class 2 (BMI 35–39. 9), and obesity class 3 (BMI ≥40) cohorts. Among employees with data for each work loss category (absenteeism, short‐term disability STD, long‐term disability LTD, worker's compensation WC) during the 12‐month follow‐up, the percentage of employees with work loss, number of hours/days lost, and associated productivity costs were reported. Results 719, 482 employees (normal weight: 106, 631, overweight: 230, 637, obesity class 1: 185, 850, obesity class 2: 101, 909, obesity class 3: 94, 455) were included. Outcomes increased with each higher BMI category for the mean number of absence hours (in order of BMI category: 262, 273, 285, 290, 304) and percentage of employees with a claim (STD: 6. 8%, 7. 6%, 9. 7%, 11. 7%, 17. 0%; LTD: 0. 4%, 0. 4%, 0. 5%, 0. 6%, 0. 8%; WC: 2. 7%, 2. 8%, 3. 4%, 3. 6%, 3. 5%). Estimated costs to the employer associated with absenteeism, STD, LTD, and WC were 1, 036, 611, 38, and 95 higher per year (respectively) in the obesity class 3 cohort relative to the normal weight cohort. Conclusions This real‐world analysis demonstrated that employees with overweight/obesity had higher loss of work productivity compared with employees with normal weight. Further studies are warranted to determine the long‐term impacts on work productivity loss if overweight and obesity are left untreated.