Employees who exercise save employers money

Just in time for National Bike to Work Week, a Reuters article summarizes research showing that even a little exercise by employees saves big bucks on health care costs:
Companies can save millions in health-care costs simply by encouraging their employees to exercise a little bit, researchers reported on Friday.

They said obese employees have higher health-care costs, but lowered those expenses by exercising just a couple of times a week - without even losing any weight. . . .

Of the whole group of workers, about 30 percent were of normal weight, 45 percent were overweight, and 25 percent were obese. Annual health-care costs averaged $2,200 for normal weight, $2,400 for the overweight, and $2,700 for obese employees.

But among workers who did no exercise, health-care costs went up by at least $100 a year, and were $3,000 a year for obese employees who were sedentary.

But adding two or more days of light exercise - at least 20 minutes of exercise or work hard enough to increase heart rate and breathing - lowered costs by on average $500 per employee a year, the researchers found.
The study is in the May 2004 issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

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