Lost Productive Time Associated With Excess Weight in the U.S. Workforce

• Recall the prevalence of obesity in this population of predominantly white-collar workers, and the ways in which obese individuals (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m 2 or higher) differed from their overweight (BMI of 25.0–29.9 kg/m 2 ) and normal-weight (BMI of 18.0–24.9 kg/m 2 counterparts. • Describe whether and to what degree obese workers differed from others in absenteeism and presenteeism as reflected by loss of productive time (LPT) in the past 2 weeks, and clarify relationships among obesity, LPT, and overall health status. • Estimate the added dollar costs incurred by employers because of obese and overweight employees.