In some cases, improved health status can actually have a positive impact on work comp programs because healthier and more physically fit workers have fewer occupational injuries, according to a 2009 study published in the journal Occupational Medicine that assessed the relationship of obesity, smoking, alcohol use, sleep disorders, musculoskeletal disorders and other diseases on the rate of occupational injuries for various age groups.
Researchers concluded that “efforts to prevent disease and promote health by addressing issues such as obesity, smoking, alcohol use and optimum use of health care may also yield benefits in terms of reductions in the rates of workplace injuries. Appropriately, targeted workplace interventions may provide opportunities to reduce not only the risk of disease associated with working conditions but also the risk of workplace injury.”
“The healthier people are, the less likely they are to have a work comp claim,” said Kevin Herman, director of worksite wellness at the Horton Group, a benefits broker based in Orland Park, Ill. Moreover, chronic conditions often exacerbate work-related injuries, oftentimes extending recovery times, he added.
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