Many of us have the same reasons for wanting to exercise and
lose weight.....look better, feel better, lower blood pressure,
lower cholesterol, decreased risk of some cancers, lower risk of
heart disease, etc.
But did you know that making your waistline thinner will also
make your wallet fatter?
It's true! Losing weight will help you earn and save more money.
"Studies have consistently shown that obese employees are paid
less than normal-weight employees doing similar jobs" (Source:
HealthNewsDigest.com - Palo Alto, CA)
A comprehensive study of wages in 1998 found that obese workers
earn significantly less than than non-obese employees. How much
less? About $3.41 per hour. This discrepancy was found only in
those workers who had employer-sponsored health insurance,
perhaps suggesting that the higher costs of insuring obese
individuals was being passed on to the employees themselves.
(Source: Bundorf and co-author Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD,
assistant professor of medicine at the Center for Health
Policy/Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research).
So it's possible that losing weight could eventually add
substantially to your paycheck. But did you know that losing
weight may also lower the amount of money you personally pay out
in medical costs?
According to a study recently published in Health Affairs, obese
Americans pay $732 more for health care each year than do
normal-weight adults. So what would you do with an extra $732?
Considering that $732 is more than double the annual cost of
most gym memberships, it seems that joining a health club pays
for itself.
We all have great reasons for wanting to lose that excess
weight, and how we have two more: potentially higher wages and
lower out-of-pocket medical expenses.
However, we do need to issue one word of warning.....when losing
weight you may find that you need to spend some of that 'saved
money' on a new wardrobe. After all, you will have to buy some
new 'skinny' clothes!
About the author:
Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute
exercise studio for women focusing on fitness, health and
nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit
http://www.letspickupthepace.com/ for more information.
