8th September 2004
New data from the US has revealed a dramatic increase in disability claims for chronic health conditions that are linked to obesity - a trend that leading UK income protection provider, UnumProvident, believes is already taking hold in the UK.
The figures released this week come from UnumProvident's US database of 1.3 million disability claims and support an earlier UnumProvident report that cited a tenfold increase in the US over the past decade in short term disability claims and identified obesity as the primary diagnosis.
In the UK, it has been estimated that obesity costs the NHS £0.5 billion per annum spent on in-patient care, with a cost to the wider UK economy through consequent sickness absence reaching £2 billion.
With rising levels of childhood obesity and predictions that a quarter of women and a fifth of men could be obese by 2005, Britain could see a considerable increase in the number of claims made due to obesity-related illnesses. UnumProvident warns that this could result in a significant increase in premiums on both individual and group income protection policies.
Dr. Michael O'Donnell, Chief Medical Officer for UnumProvident in the UK, said:
In the UK, we are on the brink of a similar epidemic. Increasing efficiencies in the workplace have meant a reduction in the opportunity to burn calories at work. Employers can play a major role in helping to avert the obesity trend by encouraging employees to be healthy.
Apart from the obvious disadvantages of an unhealthy workforce, including increased absenteeism and reduced productivity, there is also the risk of a rise in group income protection premiums due to obesity-induced ill-health. Choice is the answer. Workplaces should promote healthy eating, not just provide fast food, and employees should be encouraged, through discounted gym memberships or other sporting activities, to exercise.
The US data, based on the time period 1996 to 2003, reveals a striking increase in claims for conditions in which obesity is either a risk factor or is strongly associated. The disability claim experience in these chronic health conditions includes:
- 4000% increase in syndromes that are primarily symptom-based, such as fimbromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome or Gulf War syndrome.
- 100% increase in hypertension
- 100% increase in diabetes
- 78% increase in musculoskeletal disorders
- 63% increase in cancer
- 46% increase in back disorders
- 17% increase in cardiovascular disease
Dr. Robert Anfield, Vice President and Medical Director at UnumProvident in the US, said:
The increase in the incidence of disability claims for conditions related to obesity is alarming, and illustrates the potential scope, in terms of burden of suffering and the increase in healthcare costs, attributable to the obesity epidemic.
US employers currently lose more than $12 billion (£6.4 billion) per year due to the consequences of obesity, which include increased healthcare use and increased absenteeism, as well as elevated health and disability insurance premiums.
ENDS