Contact Information: Media Contact: Kathy Wilson P: 781-652-0499
Taking Action to Shrink America's $147 Billion Obesity Costs -- Virgin HealthMiles Advocates That Obesity Prevention Starts in the Workplace
| Source: Virgin HealthMiles
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - July 28, 2009) - As America struggles with healthcare reform and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues a new report
stating that medical costs of treating obesity-related diseases may have
soared as high as $147 billion in 2008, doubling over a decade, it is clear
that the time for intervention is now.
Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin
HealthMiles, a leading provider of health and productivity programs
that reward individuals for getting healthy, states that the workplace is
the ideal place to start that intervention.
"Just as America has chosen to become unhealthy as communities, we can
become more active and healthy as communities," said Boyce. "This starts in
the workplace where most adult Americans spend at least one third of their
weekdays working side-by-side with colleagues and studies show a direct
correlation between a person's health and their social ties. By supporting
health and productivity programs within the workplace and encouraging
wellness through communities the way the Virgin HealthMiles program does,
the U.S. can reduce the demand that's straining our healthcare system, and
better contain healthcare costs."
The recent study by researchers at RTI International, the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control &
Prevention revealed that the prevalence of obesity rose 37% between 1998
and 2006, and medical costs climbed to about 9.1% of all U.S. medical
costs. Obese people spent 42% more than people of normal weight on medical
costs in 2006, a difference of $1,429, the study found.
Boyce continued, "In any other market, there are clear causal links between
individual behavior and costs. In auto insurance, if I get a speeding
ticket, my premiums go up. As a society, we are not yet broadly measuring
or rewarding the good personal behaviors that avoid long term chronic care.
Individuals need to accept personal responsibility by becoming more
physically active, and workplace health and productivity programs are
successful at fostering this type of personal responsibility."
Virgin HealthMiles provides incentive-based healthy lifestyle programs to
corporations and government entities in the U.S. In partnership with
concerned organizations, the company will be launching National Employee
Wellness Month in September 2009 to highlight the critical role a proactive
approach toward wellness plays in curbing healthcare costs and increasing
employee morale and productivity in the workplace.
To speak with Mr. Boyce or for more information about National Employee
Wellness Month, contact Kathy Wilson at kwilson@tieronepr.com or
781-652-0499.