Workplace Obesity Interventions Must Be Inexpensive To Generate A Return On Investment

The problem is that so-called workplace wellness programs are impossible.

There is no way that they can ever be cost-effective even if they are "inexpensive."

"At work, obesity interventions must focus on low-cost policy or environmental changes to generate a return on investment, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

Because many employers require information about costs saved by interventions, this study, published in the July issue of Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, calculated return on investment from workplace obesity interventions.

'Although the cost of obesity is high, the potential savings associated with moderate weight loss is relatively modest,' said Justin Trogdon, Ph.D., a health economist at RTI and the paper's lead author. 'However, interventions that reduce excess weight can still be cost effective even if they are not cost saving on net.'

According to the researchers, behavioral interventions are generally considered successful if they can lead to 5 percent weight loss over a sustained period of time.

The study results showed that those benefits equate to about $90 per year across all overweight or obese individuals, or $160 per year for those in the highest obesity range.

The research said that those savings are much less than the costs for many worksite programs."

As they will always be for things that do not work.