Source
Department of Health Promotion, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-3050, USA. Tim.Bungum@ccmail.nevada.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To assess the relationship between body mass index, as categorized by the recently released guidelines of the NHLBI, and health care costs and absenteeism in a sample of municipal workers.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional study was employed that compared the obesity-related health care costs and absences of normal and overweight/obese city workers.
RESULTS:
While accounting for age, gender, race, smoking behavior, and educational attainment, BMI predicted both average annual health-care costs and work absence hours.
CONCLUSIONS:
The NHLBI guidelines for overweight and obesity effectively predicted absences and health care costs.