Percent Changes in Body Mass Index
What percentage of new hire applicants can you expect to be obese? An analysis of the IPCS new hire database shows that in 2004, 36% of the new hire applicants were obese!
Body mass index (BMI) is an acceptable universal measure of a person’s body fatness. The measure uses height and weight. It is weight in pounds divided by height in inches squared. This outcome is then multiplied by 703. There are many BMI calculators available on the Internet. Search on Body Mass Index or BMI.
Although there are a few inherent problems with this unit of measure, most clinicians around the world now use it. One of the most critical issues is that a muscular individual can be classified as overweight when in fact his/her body fatness is normal. Many clinicians are now encouraging one additional measure to use with BMI and that is waist circumference.
| Classification | BMI |
| Underweight | <18.5 |
| Normal Weight | >18.4 - <25 |
| Overweight | >24.9 - <30 |
| Obese - Level 1 | >29.9 - <35 |
| Obese - Level 2 | >34.9 - <40 |
| Morbidly Obese | >39.9 |
An analysis comparing the BMI ratings of those evaluated as new hires for IPCS clients in 2000 and 2004 shows the percentage of the population that is obese increased from 29% to 36%. The chart on the next page shows that these increases occurred across all obese classifications.
· The obese classifications that cost companies the most in terms of healthcare and indirect costs are the Obese – Level 2 and Morbidly Obese. These two categories increased 33% and 27%, respectively, from 2000 to 2004.
· In contrast, the percentage of new hires that are classified as normal weight decreased 26% from 32.8% to 24.2%. This is not good. This supports the fact that the obesity epidemic is for real and it is getting progressively worse because most of the increase that occurred did so in the obese classifications as opposed the overweight classification.
The IPCS analysis supports the GM report that says 26% of their workforce is obese, which cost GM $1.4 billion more each in healthcare costs.
Although there has not been much emphasis on underweight individuals, this classification of individuals should not go unnoticed. The IPCS analysis shows that less than 1 percent of the new hire applicants fell into this classification. Recent research has shown that medical costs for this group is greater than the normal weight individual.
It should be noted that the number of new hire applicants evaluated in 2000 was 15,000 in comparison to 25,000 in 2004. The sample size difference should not have any bearing on the analysis. The make-up of these two samples is nearly identical. Both groups are made up of truck drivers, dockworkers, railroad job crafts, airline job crafts, distribution workers, utility workers, heavy manufacturing workers and construction workers.
So, what is obesity costing your company each year?
You may never have considered the subject of obesity in light of business costs. I urge you to do so now. Obesity can have a major impact on the insurance premiums you pay for your employees, which in turn can hinder your ability to compete in our global economy.
