The Skinny on Being Fat: weighing in on your business success through self- awareness

The number one New Years Resolution is to be healthier and lose weight. Actually paying attention to your fitness and girth can help your business success. Here´s how personal responsibility, leadership and self awareness will help. Did you know that some companies are penalizing people for being fat? Outrageous you might say. The fact is companies are choosing this route in an effort to cut healthcare costs and reduce the number of people having to be laid off. It is a bottom line, business decision and has nothing to do with fat acceptance or non-acceptance. Does this resonate with you? Does their choice to control the uncontrollable cost of health care raise your blood pressure? Have you pledged to better self-awareness to manage your health? Are you a good role model for your team and is your leadership showing?

One in three people in America are considered obese and this number continues to soar. This translates for employers into healthcare premiums growing twice as fast as inflation to nearly double their cost at the beginning of the decade. The goal with employers is to hold down costs without offending or pushing away employees. In addition, if companies control costs, they won´t have to lay off people like you. Plus there is an impact for business if they continue to carry employees that choose not to take care of their health.

Sixty-two percent of 135 executives responding to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey in 2008 said unhealthy workers such as those who smoke or are obese should pay higher benefit costs, compared with 48% in 2005. So here is something you can control: lose weight if you need to and stop smoking. "But Marsha, it´s hard." Oh I know. But this is again something you can control, with your group, as a leader, professionally and personally.

Fact: At Clarian Health, an Indianapolis based healthcare system, (http://www.clarian.org/), employees´ pay is docked if they fail to meet certain weight-to-height ratios, and cholesterol and blood pressure levels or if they smoke. The cutoffs: a body-mass index over 29.9; blood pressure over 140/90; or LDL cholesterol over 130. How would you fair if graded using these parameters?

Fact: UnitedHealthcare, (http://www.uhc.com/), a national insurer, introduced a plan that, for a typical family, includes a $5,000 yearly deductible that can be reduced to $1,000 if an employee isn´t obese and doesn´t smoke. Bottom line: lose weight and stop smoking and save $4,000.

Fact: County workers in Benton County, Ark., (http://www.city-data.com/county/Benton_County-AR.html), were offered, a similar plan. The $2,500-a-year deductible can be reduced to $500 if a worker meets low height/weight ratios during yearly on-site physicals. Thomas Dunlap, Benton County´s Human Resources Specialist - Benefits, said the plan had witnessed a nearly 30 percent drop in claims - and led to changes in the workplace.

According to the 13th Annual National Business Group on Health/Watson Wyatt Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care, more than half of all employers use financial incentives to encourage employees to participate in one or more types of health improvement activities, and 24% more plan to do so in the coming years.

And by the way, the U.S. Department of Labor released final clarifications on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, ruled that employers can use financial incentives in wellness programs to motivate workers to get healthy. Some lawyers say, however, that weight-based compensation plans might run afoul of other employment laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A).

The healthcare experts believe it is premature to declare obesity a disease, and that by doing so, it will only make the situation worse. Because the majority of the fat-o-sphere will choose to use this as an excuse. So the jury is still out on whether being overweight is a "disease" or not. It is understood that there are diseases that cause obesity and visa versa.

A diet is a cure for a disease that doesn´t exist.

Ten ways being fat costs money blog comment

If you are trying to deflabbify yourself, think about the TLC.

Take it: You know you need to drop a few pounds but right now you have so much on your mind that you choose not to tackle your over active fork. You have a plan to tackle it in 30 days and mark it on your calendar. The decision is to tackle it from a life style change vs. going on another yo-yo diet.

Leave it: You decide not to take any action and to reject the idea of losing weight. Dieting is such a drag and you are always hungry. Buying larger clothes isn´t so bad anyway. Who is going to notice or care. Look at Oprah. She just continues to yo-yo and you don´t want to fall into that trap.

Change it: You pledge to yourself to make a life style change. You want to replace your six-pack with a six-pack. Your thighs rubbing together and igniting on fire is no longer funny. You make a flexible action list that will be your guide to feeling better and being healthier. It´s not about dieting, it is about taking personal responsibility for your choices. You are in control of what goes in your mouth. Yes, you need to change some habits and that is a good thing. Some of your affirmations can include:

I save money because eating more costs more.

When I eat fast food, which is be less often, I make better choices.

I feel better about myself and I know I look better.

My insurance premiums are reduced because I am not in a high-risk group.

I enjoy the children in my life and am a better role model.

I understand that being overweight is an unspoken issue in business. I am not overlooked for my next position because of my girth. Obesity doesn´t carry the same protections as race, gender, age, etc.

My productivity is improved because I will have more energy and better focus. I know this can chip away at my earning potential and efficiency, so I choose to control it!

According to a Stanford University study, obese people with health coverage may already be punished on the job. Those surveyed were paid an average of $1.20 less per hour than non-obese workers. Why? Employers may intentionally adjust overweight employees wages to account for healthcare costs. Bottom line: it costs them more so it will cost you more!

So you have a choice to take personal responsibility for your success. If you need new ideas all the time – check out my blog at www.DecontaminateToxicPeople.com or any of these – including Twitter!

Connect with Marsha Petrie Sue – Speaker, Author, Executive Coach:

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