Full Citation

Title: State-Level Estimates of Obesity-Attributable Costs of Absenteeism

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2014

ISBN:

ISSN: 1536-5948

DOI:

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Abstract: Objective: To provide state-level estimates of obesity-attributable costs of absenteeism among working adults in the United States. Methods: Nationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 1998 to 2008 and from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2012 are examined. The outcome is obesity-attributable workdays missed in the previous year because of health and their costs to states. Results: Obesity, but not overweight, is associated with a significant increase inworkdays absent, from 1.1 to 1.7 extra days missed annually compared with normal-weight employees. Obesity-attributable absenteeism among American workers costs the nation an estimated $8.65 billion per year. Conclusions: Obesity imposes a considerable financial burden on states, accounting for 6.5% to 12.6% of total absenteeism costs in the workplace. State legislatures and employers should seek effective ways to reduce these costs.

Url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25376405

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Authors: Andreyeva, Tatiana; Luedicke, Joerg; Wang, Y. Claire

Periodical (Full): Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Issue: 11

Volume: 56

Pages: 1120-1127

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Health, Labor Force and Occupational Structure

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