Job Absenteeism Costs of Obesity in the United States: National and State-Level Estimates

Objective: To estimate the causal effect of obesity on job absenteeism and the associated lost productivity in the United States, both nationwide and by state. Methods: We conducted a retrospective pooled cross-sectional analysis using the 2001 to 2016 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and estimated two-part models of instrumental variables. Results: Obesity, relative to normal weight, raises job absenteeism due to injury or illness by 3.0 days per year (128%). Annual productivity loss due to obesity ranges from $271 to $542 (lower/upper bound) per employee with obesity, with national productivity losses ranging from $13.4 to $26.8 billion in 2016. Trends in state-level estimates mirror those at the national level, varying across states. Conclusions: Obesity significantly raises job absenteeism. Reductions in job absenteeism should be included when calculating the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent or reduce obesity among employed adults.

Title	Job Absenteeism Costs of Obesity in the United States: National and State-Level Estimates
Creator	Smolarz, B. G.
	Biener, Adam I.
	Ding, Y. C.
	Zvenyach, T.
	Ramasamy, A.
	Cawley, J.
	Meyerhoefer, C.
Publisher	Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Source	Cawley, J., et al. (2021 Jul) "Job Absenteeism Costs of Obesity in the United States: National and State-Level Estimates." Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 63 (7): 565-573.
Academic Department	Economics
Division	Social Sciences
Organization	Lafayette College
Date Issued	July 2021
Date Available	2022-01-06
Type	Article
Language	English
Keyword	two-part negative binomial model
	job absenteeism
	work productivity
	instrumental variables
	indirect costs
	obesity
Bibliographic Citation	Cawley, J., et al. (2021 Jul) "Job Absenteeism Costs of Obesity in the United States: National and State-Level Estimates." Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 63 (7): 565-573.
Standard Identifier	Handle 10385/5138jg166
Standard Identifier	DOI 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002198
Permalink	http://hdl.handle.net/10385/5138jg166
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Rights Holders	Smolarz, B. G.
	Biener, Adam I.
	Ding, Y. C.
	Zvenyach, T.
	Ramasamy, A.
	Cawley, J.
	Meyerhoefer, C.