New CDC Website To Help Employers Combat Obesity & Reduce Costs

(Published June 29, 2009)

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched CDC LEANWorks!, a website designed to help businesses address obesity.  LEAN stands for Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition.

 

"Workplace obesity prevention programs can be an effective way for employers to reduce obesity and lower their health care costs, lower absenteeism, and increase employee productivity," said William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.  "Employers may also see other indirect benefits when they implement these programs such as improved employee morale, increased worker retention, and improved recruitment of new employees."

 

The free website was developed particularly for small and mid-size companies, which typically have more limited resources to devote to obesity prevention efforts.  However, the tools and resources available on CDC LEANWorks! can benefit companies of any size.  CDC LEANWorks! can help employers calculate the cost of obesity for their organizations and develop tailored approaches to help control these costs through interventions such as fitness classes, lunchtime health education sessions, weight management programs, and more.

 

The website provides a variety of resources to employers, including:

• An obesity cost-calculator, where employers can input employee demographic data to estimate the total costs associated with obesity and determine annual obesity-related medical costs for their companies.
  
  
• Information and resources to help employers plan, build, promote, and assess interventions to combat obesity. 
  
  
• Information on how employers can estimate return on investment (ROI), a measure of the cost of an intervention compared to the expected financial return of the intervention.