2021/03/23 by John Cawley, Adam Biener, Chad D. Meyerhoefer +4 · 1 citation
Health Professions · Medicine · Psychology · #Absenteeism #Demographic economics #Economics #Employment and Welfare Studies #Environmental health #Gerontology #Internal medicine #Medicine #Obesity #Psychology #Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue #Social psychology #Workplace Health and Well-being
paper · doi:10.1097/jom.0000000000002198
openalex publication_date 2021/03/23 · openalex created_date 2021/03/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the causal effect of obesity on job absenteeism and the associated lost productivity in the United States, both nationwide and by state. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective pooled cross-sectional analysis using the 2001 to 2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and estimated two-part models of instrumental variables. RESULTS: Obesity, relative to normal weight, raises job absenteeism due to injury or illness by 3.0 days per year (128%). Annual productivity loss due to obesity ranges from 271 to 542 (lower/upper bound) per employee with obesity, with national productivity losses ranging from 13.4 to 26.8 billion in 2016. Trends in state-level estimates mirror those at the national level, varying across states. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity significantly raises job absenteeism. Reductions in job absenteeism should be included when calculating the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent or reduce obesity among employed adults.