Academic and Government Sources
For the savings calculations appearing on the home page and the calculators:
Research shows that every $1 invested in a corporate wellness program returns $4 in reduced healthcare costs and $5 in reduced absenteeism over a period of three to five years.
Aldana, S.G. Financial Impact of health promotion programs: A comprehensive review of the literature. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2001; 15:5, 296-320.
Research shows that keeping each healthy employee healthy reduces future healthcare costs by $350 per year.
Edington, D.W. Emerging research: A view from one research center. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2001; 15:5, 341-349.
Research shows that employees who are physically active have annual direct medical costs $330 lower than inactive employees.
Pratt, Michael, et al. Higher direct medical costs associated with physical inactivity. The Physician and Sports Medicine, 2001; 28:20.
For statistics cited within the "Our Strategies" page:
The Challenge: Overweight and Obesity
Employees with unhealthy weights had annual health care costs 21 percent greater than average. — American Journal of Health Promotion
Pelletier, K. A review analysis of the health and cost effective outcomes studies of comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention programs at the worksite: 1991-1993 Update. American Journal of Health Promotion, 1993; Sept/Oct, 50-62.
Health care costs for obese workers are about 70 percent higher than for employees of healthy weights. Overweight workers' costs are about 7 percent higher.
Wang, F., et al. The Relationship Between National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Weight Guidelines and Concurrent Medical Costs in a Manufacturing Population. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2003; 17:I3, 183.
The Challenge: Lack of Physical Activity
One death per year may be preventable for every 61 people who could be persuaded to walk at least 2 hours per week. — Archives of Internal Medicine
Gregg, Edward W., et al. Relationship of Walking to Mortality Among U.S. Adults With Diabetes. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2003; 163, 1440-1447.
About 25 percent of U.S. adults report little or no regular physical activity, and over 60 percent do not get enough exercise to benefit their health.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of Physical Activity, Including Lifestyle Activities Among Adults — United States, 2000—2001.MMWR, 2003; 52:32, 764-769.
Research shows that employees who get little or no exercise use $219 more per year in health care than even mildly active employees.
Pelletier, K. A review analysis of the health and cost effective outcomes studies of comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention programs at the worksite: 1991-1993 Update. American Journal of Health Promotion, 1993; Sept/Oct, 50-62.
A program of 20 minutes of brisk physical activity just twice per week can save companies $500 in health care costs per participating employee.
World Health Organization. Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, May 2004. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/en/ Accessed 17 Sept. 2007.
The Challenge: Tobacco
Each year, excess medical expenditures attributed to smoking for an adult smoker are over $1,600. –CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking-attributable mortality and years of potential life lost, and economic costs — United States, 1995-1999. MMWR, 2002; 51:14, 300-303.
Nearly 70 percent of adult smokers want to quit.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2001; MMWR, 2003; 52.
One key study of a large company population showed that smokers had 14-20 percent higher health care costs than non-smokers.
Golaszewski T. Shining lights: studies that have most influenced the understanding of health promotion’s financial impact. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2001;15:5, 332-340.
Another report demonstrated that a smoker has an average of $6,000 greater lifetime medical costs than a non-smoker.
Bartecchi, Carl E., et al. The Human Costs of Tobacco Use—First of Two Parts. New England Journal of Medicine, 1994; 330:13, 907-912.
The Challenge: Chronic Disease
An employer's annual per capita costs are over $4,400 more per year for employees with diabetes than for those without. — Diabetes Care
Ramsey, Scott, et al. Productivity and Medical Costs of Diabetes in a Large Employer Population. Diabetes Care, 2002; 25, 23-29.
An estimated 70 to 80 percent of health care costs are spent treating chronic conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors: National and State Perspectives 2004. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Nov. 2005.
One study found that annual mean payments for claims related to coronary artery disease — the condition responsible for the greatest number of health care claims among 607 conditions studied &dmash; were $4,639 per patient, more than double the average payment of $2,230 for all conditions examined.
Goetzel, R.Z., et al. Pharmaceuticals – cost or investment? An employer’s perspective. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2000; 42:4, 338-351.
Physical inactivity is a leading contributor to disease and disability, accounting for 22 percent of coronary heart disease, 22 percent of colon cancer, 18 percent of osteoporotic fractures, 12 percent of diabetes and hypertension, and 5 percent of breast cancer. — American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Kahn, L., et al. The effectiveness of interventions to increase physical activity: A systematic review, 1 and 2. American Journal of Preventive Medicine; 22:4, 73-107.
The Challenge: Cancer
Simply inviting a population of women to breast cancer screening can lead to 24 percent reduced mortality. — Journal of Medical Screening
Tabar L., et al. All-cause mortality among breast cancer patients in a screening trial: support for breast cancer mortality as an end point. Journal of Medical Screening, 2002; 9:4, 159-162.
The average cost of treatment for the four most common types of cancer—lung, breast, colon and prostate—is about $18,000.
National Cancer Institute. Cancer Trends Progress Report—2005 Update. Bethesda, Md.: Department of Health and Human Service, December 2005.
