Obesity and morbidity prevalence in a working population

As part of ongoing medical surveillance, the morbidity prevalence for obese individuals (20% to 40% and greater than 40% overweight) was compared with non-obese corporate employees utilizing group health insurance claims data for 1985. The advantages of claims data as a potential source of morbidity data for disease surveillance and research are discussed herein. The expected finding of a positive association between hypertension (P less than .05) and obesity noted for both male and female employees reiterates the important role of work site weight control programs in reducing hypertension. The positive association between prevalence of mental health disorders and obesity demonstrates the need to address the adverse psychologic risks of obesity in addition to the adverse physical risks. This finding suggests that employee assistance programs emphasize counseling services for obese individuals.