Memo to Staff: Time to Lose a Few Pounds. Moving Beyond Gym Memberships, Companies Take Aggressive, Personalized Approach to Workers’ Weight

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The boss thinks you could stand to lose a few.

Seeking to make a dent in the intractable problem of obesity—a condition affecting roughly one-third of U.S. adults and costing companies more than $73 billion a year, according to researchers from Duke University—businesses are experimenting with new measures to encourage workers to slim down.

They are moving beyond healthy snacks in vending machines or discounted gym memberships and taking an aggressive, personalized approach to workers’ weight.

Some are offering employees wearable fitness trackers and competitions on social apps, covering weight-loss surgeries and drugs, and providing mental-health counseling designed to get at the emotions that may underlie eating issues.

You'd be amazed by the incentives of market based health insurance.