Economic Costs of Obesity to Self-Insured Employers

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the direct and indirect costs of obesity within a cohort of commercially insured employees in the United States. METHOD: Health plan claims, self-reported health risk assessment, and productivity data (Thomson MarketScan) from 2003 to 2005 were used to identify employees. Two-part regression models were used to compare body mass index (BMI) groups to estimate the incremental direct and indirect costs, conditional on expenditure, associated with elevated BMI. RESULTS: Regression-adjusted incremental direct medical costs associated with being overweight, obese, and severely obese were estimated to be 147. 11, 712. 34, and 1977. 43, respectively. Adjusted incremental indirect costs due to paid absence associated with being overweight, obese, and severely obese were estimated at 1403. 81, 1511. 24, and 1414. 09, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Overall adjusted direct and indirect costs were higher for workers with elevated BMI relative to those of normal weight.