Obesity Can Cost you a Fortune

The Australian population is among the most overweight and obese of the developed nations. Whilst you may think this is a personal issue for your workforce, you couldn't be further from the truth. Overweight employees can have a significant impact on workplace health and safety and be a drain on the workers’ compensation system.

Scarily, obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 20 years. We are a fat nation and a recent report in the medical journal The Lancet shows that 63% of the adult population is overweight. This means that over 14 million Australians are overweight whilst more than 5 million are obese. Obesity has become the single biggest threat to public health in Australia but it’s also become a threat to your business.

Overweight and obese workers can, and probably already do, impact your business in a negative way. They are likely to be more unfit and physically impaired which will affect their performance and thus your productivity. In addition, they are more prone to injury and thus have higher worker compensation claim costs. All in all, they can cost your business a fortune!

Obesity - Implications for workplace health and safety

An Australian government report in Aug 2008 looked at ‘Overweight and obesity: implications for workplace health and safety and workers’ compensation’. Listed below are their key implications for workplace health and safety.

1. Increased workplace absenteeism, lower productivity and work limitations

There is no doubt that excess weight and physical inactivity are associated with employees’ work performance. Obese workers are more likely to take sick leave and be less productive. Figures show that the average duration of absenteeism in 2004-05 was greater for obese and overweight employees (3.2 days) compared to non-obese employees (2.3 days for underweight and 2.8 days for normal weight) (ABS 2006).

2. Increased injury severity, duration and medical costs

Due to being unfit, obese workers are more likely to have a longer injury recovery time compared to those of normal weight. Being overweight may also add complications to injury treatments which again impacts recovery time. Obviously longer recovery times mean higher medical expenses which means more expensive workers’ compensation claims.

3. Increased injury and illness incidence Obese and overweight workers can find it difficult to perform some work duties, especially physically intensive tasks. We know that obesity restricts mobility and flexibility and this can make overweight workers more prone to accidents which leads to a higher risk of injury.

4. Meeting weight and dimension requirements of heavier people With more people overweight and obese than ever before, standards relating to the design of working environments, plant and equipment will need to change to reflect the current and predicted weight and dimensions of workers. For example, assessing whether weight capacities for equipment such as ladders, hoists, elevators, seats and forklifts are appropriate or looking at the standards for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as for respirators, hard hats, safety glasses and gloves to ensure they meet the needs of all workers including those with larger body dimensions.

5. Increased musculoskeletal disorders It’s thought that obesity contributes to an increase in workplace musculoskeletal injuries. For example, there is a risk of musculoskeletal disorders if there is mismatch between a person’s physical needs, abilities and limitations and the working environment, plant and equipment and required tasks.

Obesity is a real problem in Australia and could be a real problem in your workforce. Have a look around your business and see if your workforce follow the statistics for Australia. Are more than 50% of your employees overweight or obese? If so, just think about what this could be costing your business in terms of lost productivity and high absenteeism. Do you still think this is just a personal issue for your staff or do you think you need to look at implementing some healthy weight initiatives to put your business on a better footing for the future?

If you’d like some assistance in putting together a suitable program for your staff please give us a call on 1300 856 282.

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