May 22, 2008 -- NORC Senior Fellow Jon Gabel was intervewed by NPR (listen here) about his recent analysis of employer and employee attitudes on weight management programs in the workplace. The story also was featured on Occupational Hazards, Fox Business Channel (play clip here), voluntary.com, and Kansas City Infozine.

The survey findings were revealed by the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance May 22 during a Washington D.C., briefing at the National Press Club.  A summary of the briefing including a photo and the survey results are now available on the STOP Obesity Alliance Web site.

Findings include:

• 71 percent of employers view offering obesity-related services as appropriate;
• 73 percent of them also saw them as effective;
• 80 percent of employees surveyed agreed that weight management programs belong in the workplace;
• 67 percent of employers are concerned about medical costs associated with obesity;
• 11 percent of employers strongly agree that obesity is genetic in origin, while 70 percent of those surveyed “somewhat agreed” with that assessment.