CDC Introduces New Website to Help Employers Combat Obesity and Reduce Health-Related Costs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] today unveiled LEAN Works!, a website designed to help businesses address obesity. LEAN stands for Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition. The new website was announced at a National Business Group on Health [NBGH] meeting in Washington, D.C.

"CDC LEAN Works! was developed in direct response to organizations asking CDC for help in addressing the obesity epidemic. Specifically they wanted to know what interventions were effective in helping employees maintain a healthy weight," said William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. "CDC has identified science-based interventions that work to prevent and control obesity. CDC LEAN Works! provides the tools that employers need to take action."

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 LEAN Works! can benefit companies of any size. CDC LEAN Works! 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 -- a measure of the cost of an intervention, compared to the expected financial return of the intervention.

Obesity is a risk factor for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Obese individuals spend 77 percent more money for necessary medications than non-obese persons.

"Obesity affects more than just health-care costs. It also has a significant impact on worker productivity, because the more chronic diseases employees have, the more likely they are to be absent from work, or less productive if they come to work sick," said Janet Collins, Ph.D., director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Because organizations do not usually publish information about their worksite programs in the scientific literature, CDC visited select businesses to identify promising worksite obesity prevention and control practices. The CDC LEAN Works! website provides case studies from some of those businesses to provide examples of successful worksite obesity prevention programs.

"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 Dr. Dietz. 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.”

To learn more about CDC LEAN Works!, visit http://www.cdc.gov/leanworks.

For more information about CDC’s efforts to combat obesity, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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HHS Secretary Sebelius: Women and Small Businesses Pay 'Particularly High Price' Under Current Health Care System

Health and Human Services [HHS] Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Tina Tchen, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, hosted a roundtable discussion yesterday with women small-business owners and discussed the urgent need for health care reform.

At the meeting, Sebelius also released a new report, "Roadblocks to Health Care: Why the Current Health Care System Does Not Work For Women." The report shows how our current system is leaving millions of women without the affordable, quality care they need and can be read at http://www.HealthReform.gov/. The new report and roundtable came as America celebrates National Women’s Health Week.

"All Americans are suffering under the current system, but women and small businesses are paying a particularly heavy price," said Secretary Sebelius. "Millions of women are uninsured, and small businesses are struggling to give their workers the care they need and deserve. We can’t wait to pass comprehensive health care reform and give women -- and all Americans – the health care system we need."

According to the just-released "Roadblocks to Health Care" report:

* 21 million women and girls are uninsured;

* In the individual insurance market, women are often charged higher premiums than men during their reproductive years. Holding other factors constant, a 22-year-old woman can be charged one and-a-half times the premium of a 22-year-old man; and

* In a recent national survey, more than half of women [52 percent] reported delaying or avoiding needed care because of cost, compared with 39 percent of men.

"Across the country, women and girls are going without care or paying too much for inadequate coverage," added Director Tchen. "President Obama and the White House Council on Women and Girls are committed to improving the health of all women, and we know that health care reform is essential to achieving our goal."

At the roundtable, Sebelius and Tchen also discussed the difficulties that small businesses face when attempting to provide health benefits to their employees. Nearly three-quarters of small businesses that do not offer benefits cite high premiums as the reason. Small businesses that do offer health benefits are suffering. Forty percent of businesses that provide health care coverage say health costs have had a negative impact on other parts of their business.

"Skyrocketing costs are making it difficult, if not impossible, for businesses to give their employees the benefits they deserve," added Sebelius. "Real reform will ease the burden on small business and help businesses stay competitive."

The roundtable discussion was held at Stitch DC, a knitting store owned by Nora and Marie Connolly, who participated in the discussion. Other participants included: Denise D’Amour, co-owner, Capitol Hill Bikes; Laurie Morin, co-owner, Capitol Hill Bikes; Erin Mara, co-owner, Homebody; Leah Daniels, co-owner, Hill’s Kitchen; and Angela Bradley, owner, BTI Security.

SOURCES: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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