Obesity, diabetes burden patients, economy, study suggests

NEW YORK Obesity and diabetes can create enormous burdens for those who live with the conditions, but a new study suggests they burden the economy as well.

The study, published in the May-June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, found that workers who are obese and have diabetes are less productive than counterparts without the two conditions.

Researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Strategic Health Solutions surveyed 7,338 working adults, asking them about reduced productivity at work, finding that obese people with Type 2 diabetes lost between 11% and 15% more time because of problems with their health. By contrast, people of normal weight lost 9% of work time.