U.S. Companies Can Save Billions By Launching Wellness Programs

A comprehensive report in the American Heart Association journal Circulation estimated that 25 to 30% of companies’ annual medical costs go to employees with heart-related problems like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Heart disease, the #1 killer in the U.S., accounts for $305 billion in annual medical costs.

The AHA report, written by the nation’s top heart disease researchers, stated that companies who implement wellness programs encouraging physical activity, smoking cessation, nutrition education, weight loss, and stress management (all tenets of the Pritikin Program) can save anywhere from $3 to $15 for every $1 invested within 12 to 18 months of the program's implementation.

SOURCE: Circulation, Sept 30, 2009 (online edition)
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.192653