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Stop playing defense with wellness

We talk a lot about our aging workforce. We also tend to discuss obesity quite a bit. But what we rarely touch on is the deadly and costly combination of the two.

By Denis Storey | Updated on April 09, 2013

We talk a lot about our aging workforce. To cite Harvard Business Review: “By 2050, over one-fifth of the U.S. population will be 65 or older, up from the current figure of one-seventh. The number of centenarians worldwide will double by 2023 and double again by 2035. Projections suggest life expectancy will surpass 100 in some industrialized countries by the second half of this century — roughly triple the lifespan that prevailed worldwide throughout most of human history.” 

We also tend to discuss obesity quite a bit, this generation’s smoking. The latest Centers for Disease Control stats show more than a third of U.S. adults — nearly 36 percent — are obese. And in 2008, according to the CDC, obesity-related medical costs hovered around $147 billion; in fact, typical medical expenses for obese people were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. 

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