Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Alabama to Charge Obese Workers Extra for Insurance
Any of Alabama's more than 35,000 state employees will be charged $25 per month for insurance that's usually free if they're too fat and don't work on losing the extra weight by January 2010, the Associated Press reported Monday. While other states reward workers who meet criteria for what's considered healthy, Alabama would be the first state to penalize those who qualify as obese. The monthly charge would apply to any state employee with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or greater who "doesn't make progress" in slimming down, the wire service said. The state has yet to determine how much progress an employee would have to demonstrate.
A BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese. A person who is 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighs 220 pounds would have a BMI of 35.5, the AP said.
The wire service cited statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that Alabama ranks second in the nation behind Mississippi as the state with the biggest weight problem. Nearly one-third of Alabamians are obese.
The director of Alabama's State Employees' Insurance Board said that a person with a BMI of 35 to 39 faces about $1,750 more in medical expenses each year than a person with a BMI of less than 25.
Alabama already charges a premium to state workers who smoke.
SourceLabels: great idea, health trend, innovative, Obesity, study
And the whole fat=unhealthy is ridiculous propaganda that has outstayed its welcome. The BMI concept is archaic and unrealistic (look up the history and concept of it and you'll plainly see why it's so imperfect a "scale" of anything.)
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