Employers’ Critical Role in Fighting the Obesity Epidemic

Free to International Foundation and ISCEBS members

Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. obesity rate was 41.9% as of March 2020 and is currently projected to rise to half of all Americans in eight years. Health experts have declared a public health crisis, but employers have been slow to recognize their role in fighting this costly chronic disease.

Obesity-related comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, heart disease and more) add significant cost to health plans. A U.S. report estimated that the annual medical cost of obesity was $248 billion in 2020. Diabetes alone accounts for one in four health care dollars spent.

Several therapies and treatment options have been proven effective in preventing and/or reversing obesity, but outdated mores and coverage protocols hinder patient access.

Approximately half of the country’s workers receive health care coverage through an employer. This webcast will explore the critical role employers, and those who guide them, play as well as discuss steps to reduce obesity rates and lower long-term health costs.