Over the course of any given month, I hear any number of solutions to the so-called health care crisis. And they run all the way up and down the spectrum, from "feds should pay for everything" nonsense to the equally unrealistic "let's do away with it altogether."
Today I stumbled across something a little more down to earth.
In their latest book, authors Tom Gilliam and Jane Neill argue that — rather than cut benefits — employers should spend more on their workers, in the form of a formal weight loss program.
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Granted, Gilliam and Neill are pushing their own product here, but it makes some real sense. As the authors contend, obesity remains the root cause of more health problems than nearly anything else.
And it's hard to argue with the numbers themselves. Among other things, obese employees drive up medical costs, get hurt at work more often, miss work more frequently and are actually less productive when they are at their desks.
Hmm … who knew? And you thought that batch of smokers out front was annoying.
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