 In 2008, the annual healthcare cost of obesity in the US was estimated to be as high as 147 billion dollars a year. The annual medical burden of obesity increased to 9.1 percent in 2006 compared to 6.5 percent in 1998. Medical expenses for obese employees are estimated to be 42 percent higher than for a person with a healthy weight. Workplace obesity prevention programs can be an effective way for employers to reduce obesity and lower their health care costs, lower absenteeism and increase employee productivity.

 "CDC's LEAN Works! Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition" is a FREE web-based resource that offers interactive tools and evidence-based resources to design effective worksite obesity prevention and control programs, including an obesity cost calculator to estimate how much obesity is costing your company and how much savings your company could reap with different workplace interventions.