Thought Leadership in Action

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 2 out of 3 Americans are overweight and 1 in 3 is obese. Employer-sponsored weight management programs can play an important role in the effort to get Americans to adopt healthier lifestyles that can lower the risk for a host of chronic diseases. But many workplace weight management programs fail when it comes to helping workers meet weight loss goals.

The reason? Research from the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) indicates that the traditional approach organizations often follow when it comes to weight management interventions simply doesn’t work. Instead, a new report from NEBGH, “Weight Control and Employees: One Size Doesn’t Fit All,” concludes that to make workplace-sponsored weight control programs effective, organizations need to opt for innovative and individualized programs.

Employer surveys were used for the NEBGH research project and 19 executives from employers, health plans and consulting organizations were queried in an in-depth round table discussion. Although most listed weight control and obesity among their top employee health concerns, less than 50% had a weight control initiative underway at their organization and 75% were “less than satisfied” with any existing weight-control programs for workers or with the lack of weight management initiatives. These responses mirrored the results of a 2013 NEBGH survey on weight control that found employers considered obesity a top concern but they had difficulty deciding what kind of weight control programs would be truly effective for their workers.

“The workplace is clearly a critical arena for delivering programs that help employees tackle weight issues, while also delivering benefits to employers in the form of fewer absences, enhanced productivity and lower health costs,” said Laurel Pickering, MPH, President and CEO of NEBGH. “The key to greater success is recognizing that many individuals need more targeted interventions in addition to, but not as a replacement for, traditional behavioral and lifestyle offerings, and that physicians have an essential role to play in targeting those interventions.”

Specifically, in addition to the traditional healthy eating and exercise wellness programs, the report recommends adding innovative technology applications. For example, NEBGH strongly recommends using digital connectivity as a way to encourage participation and engagement by workers having difficulty with weight issues. Employers who were surveyed noted that overcoming the stigma and embarrassment and other emotional issues associated with being overweight is critical to having a truly effective weight control program for employers and programs available through web sites and apps that can be personalized, providing privacy and anonymity, could be a solution.

The report also advises organizations to steer employees to high-value, evidenced-based care. Providing health benefits coverage for obesity treatments including appropriate prescription medications and bariatric surgery can also improve outcomes. “Obesity is a life-threatening medical condition and not a lifestyle issue. Consequently, we need to be aggressive in bringing to bear the full spectrum of therapies, which for certain individuals means taking a closer look at the role prescription medications and bariatric surgery can play as part of multi-layered interventions for targeted populations,” said Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH, Executive Director of NEBGH’s Solutions Center.

“Health benefit design that provides coverage for these treatments, and also uses incentives to engage employees and steer them toward physicians and Centers of Excellence with a proven track record of delivering good weight control outcomes, is a potentially powerful tool in employers’ arsenals when combined with healthy eating and lifestyle modification programs,” Nobel said.