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As firms continue to fight for their survival in the current recession, an increasing number of their employees have moved up a weight class – or two.

According to a recent Workforce Solutions, Inc. survey, 43% of our client companies workers have gained weight in their current jobs.

A combination of stress over the current economy and poor eating habits seems to be spurring the increased weight gain in the U.S. workforce.

Just how much weight are employees packing on? According to the study:

* 25% have put on more than 10 lbs., and
* 12% have put on more than 20 lbs.

• The study also dissected people’s eating habits and found:
  • 39% of employees eat out for lunch two or more times per week
  • 12% of employees buy lunch from a vending machine at least once a week
  • 67% of employees snack at least once a day, and
  • 24% of employees admit to snacking twice a day.

There’s a good deal of research that proves unhealthy staffers carry significantly higher healthcare costs. Taking a proactive approach to helping these employees can benefit their overall well-being, as well as your bottom line. This has been a proven fact in keeping the annual Health Insurance Premium increase below the national trend.

Fortunately, reversing bad habits doesn’t take a complete lifestyle overhaul. Experts stress that little things can have a tremendous impact in halting the weight gain, including:

  • bringing a lunch to work
• making it a point to get up from your desk several times throughout the day
• taking walks during lunch breaks, and
• biking to/from work

Find out how Workforce Solutions, Inc. can help your company manage Employee Health and minimize Health Insurance Premium increases.

Prescription drug use in the United States is on the rise, both for acute and chronic issues. Workforce Solutions, Inc. reports the number of people with at least one prescription increased from 67% to 74% between 2000 and 2007, while Caremark estimates that more than half of the insured U.S. population took prescription medication in 2007 for a chronic health condition.

According to Workforce Solutions’ Geographic Variation in Prescription Drug Utilization study, in addition to the increase in the number of Americans using prescribed medications, the intensity of use rose, too. In 2000, the number of prescriptions per person using a prescribed medication was 10.8, and this increased to 14.3 by 2007. The drug therapy classes experiencing the most growth were antihyperlipidemics (for controlling cholesterol and triglyceride levels), antidiabetics (diabetes) and antihypertensives (blood pressure).

Workforce Solutions’ Health study found that 51% of insured U.S. adults and children were being treated with prescribed medication for a chronic condition in 2007. Additionally, this study reports that 20% of the population uses three or more prescription drug treatments for chronic conditions. The most widely used drugs were those prescribed to battle high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

Both reports point to obesity as a key factor in explaining their findings. For example, the Express Scripts report, which examines geographic variations, found a high correlation between state level obesity rates and use of medications for diabetes and high blood pressure, and a medium correlation between obesity rates and use of medication for high cholesterol.

Other factors that could be contributing to increased prescription drug use, as suggested in the Caremark report, include greater compliance rates, more dual therapy, higher screening rates for certain conditions, earlier initiation of drug treatment, and growing willingness on the part of physicians to use drug therapy instead of other types of treatment. Additionally, due to various advances in medical care, many once-fatal conditions have evolved to become chronic conditions, treatable by maintenance medications. Add the growing number of drug therapies now available for conditions that previously went untreated (erectile dysfunction, sleeping disorders, a variety of mental health-related issues), along with direct-to-consumer advertising by drug makers, and this trend of increased prescription drug usage seems sure to continue.

The increased prescription drug usage is one of the biggest factors in the annual health insurance premium increase seen by most small businesses.

Need assistance in assessing your prescription drug benefits? Contact Workforce Solution’s Inc today.