According to a recent study released by Gallup-Healthways, U.S. workers who have chronic health troubles or are overweight cost over $153 billion in lost productivity each year from absenteeism.  According to the study reported by the Employee Benefit News:

Compared with non-overweight healthy workers, the 86% of U.S. workers who have weight or health issues, or both, miss an estimated 450 million extra days of work a year.

The $153 billion in annual lost productivity costs linked to unhealthy or overweight workers in the United States is more than four times the cost found in Britain.

The sharp difference is the result of fewer unhealthy workers in Britain. Only about 14% of full-time U.S. workers are of “normal” weight and have no chronic illnesses, compared with 20% in Britain

Full-time workers who were not overweight and suffered no chronic health conditions averaged 0.34 unhealthy days each month, or about four days per year, with a tiny increase for workers who were overweight with no chronic conditions.

At the other end of the spectrum, overweight workers with three or more chronic health conditions reported an average of about 42 unhealthy days per year, about the same as non-overweight workers with similar health woes.

Run, don’t walk, to read this entire study here, but then also ask yourself, what will it take for you, your colleagues, and your workplace to start addressing this issue in earnest?  You have to start somewhere and some day.  Why not take that first step today by getting everyone moving again and supporting/motivating each other within the context of a DailyEndorphin wellness challenge?