Binge-Eating ‘Hidden Driver’ of Medical, Productivity Costs - SHRM

Employers implementing wellness programs may want to consider initiatives that target binge eating, suggests a recent webinar on a disorder that some are calling a major public health burden.

Obesity costs employers an estimated $165 billion in medical care and lost productivity, and binge eating is responsible for $33 billion of those costs, according to a February 2008 webinar by HealthMedia Inc.

“It’s really a hidden driver” of those medical and productivity costs, and a disorder “closely associated with obesity,” said Richard Bedrosian, Ph.D.