Big Business Frets About Fat

What health issue keeps corporate chieftains up at night? If you answered fat Americans, you're in the ballpark.

A growing obesity problem is one of the biggest issues contributing to rising employee medical costs, according to an organization of the country's biggest and mostly self-insured employers.

"It's terrifying," says Helen Darling, longtime leader of the National Business Group on Health.

Obesity leads to heart conditions, diabetes and a number of other diseases and that's taxing the health system, Darling says. More than a quarter of medical premiums paid by private employers annually relates to obesity, her group estimates. The cost to these employers: $13 billion a year.

Meanwhile, Americans are getting fatter. In the past 25 years, adult obesity in the U.S. doubled. Darling cites four states that count almost a third of their population obese: Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and West Virginia. In Alabama, almost 70% of adults are either overweight or obese, she says. Thirty-one states count at least a quarter of their adult populations as obese.

"We're deeply concerned," says Darling, who hits the treadmill every day and balances her diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. "It dramatically undermines the standard of life and quality of life. It's swamping the health care system."

The group encourages employers to sponsor at-work programs for exercise and healthy eating. It's also asking Congress to give tax breaks for wellness programs that help workers win the battle of the bulge. Employer contributions toward workers' exercise and wellness programs shouldn't be considered taxable income and employees should be able to use pre-tax dollars for such programs (similar to flexible spending accounts for health care), the group says.

Preventable health care is getting short shrift in Washington these days. Because it's not proven that preventing chronic diseases will actually save money in the long run, there's little support as part of the overall debate on reform.