Credit: Kimberly Boyles/Adobe Stock

Workplace obesity takes a financial toll on employers, from reduced productivity and increased absenteeism to serious health problems that can trigger higher insurance premiums. Although several new medications show great promise, they also can be prohibitively expensive.

The challenge for employers is to provide a benefits package that promotes weight management and wellbeing while holding the line on costs. Twenty-two percent of U.S. employers now cover prescription drugs for weight loss, 45% pay for bariatric surgery and one-third offer some form of weight management program, according to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.