The average lifetime expenditure for health care is currently$316,000. Much of the cost is clearly linked tohealth habits.

Poor health habits are strongly associated with illness and arestrong predictors of future health care costs.

For example, the lifetime costs for smokers are higher thanthose for nonsmokers, by about one-third. Also, people with lowlevels of physical activity visit the doctor more frequently thanthose who are physically active.

When looking at any given organization’s population ofemployees, people with three or more of the following risk factors(smoking, obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, anddiabetes) have health care claims that are double those of peoplewith no risk factors.

Changing habits includes creating a culture ofhealth

To create value in our health care system, we first need tocreate a culture of health.

Although the health care community is taking steps to improvethe coordination and efficiency of healthcare delivery, true healthcare value will be achieved only when combined with effectivehealth promotion that creates better health.

Workplace wellness studies have been conductedsince the late 1980s examining the relationship between employeehealth risk and health care value. Key findings included these:

• Cost followed risk.

• The greatest reductions in average health care costs occurred inemployees who moved from high-risk to low-risk status, and thelargest increase in costs occurred in employees who moved fromlow-risk to high-risk health status.

• The road to health care value must include the measures thatbring better health to individuals and ultimately lead to lowermedical costs.

Why target metabolic syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is the term used to describe a group ofmetabolic risk factors that raise a person’s risk of heart disease,diabetes, stroke and other health problems.

The five metabolic risk factors described by the term metabolicsyndrome include a large waistline, high blood triglyceride levels,a low HDL (“good”) cholesterol level, high blood pressure, and ahigh fasting blood sugar.

The risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke increases withthe number of metabolic risk factors. People with metabolicsyndrome

• have a risk of developing diabetes that is 2.5-3.5 times higherthan average risk

• have a risk of developing heart disease or stroke that is1.5-2.2 times higher than average risk

The risk of having metabolic syndrome is closely linked to beingoverweight or obese and a lack of physical activity.

According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute,metabolic syndrome may soon overtake smoking as the leading riskfactor for heart disease.

The risks associated with metabolic syndrome present awell-defined example of the impact that risk reduction can have onthe value of an organization’s health care benefit investment.

In studies of workplace health promotion, measures thatsuccessfully eliminate the biometric, metabolic risks of themetabolic syndrome produce commensurate reductions in health care,pharmacy ,and short-term disability costs.

Better health at lower cost means greatervalue

Worksite health promotion programs hold great potential tomitigate the rising risk for poor health and increased health carecosts experienced by individual employees and employee populationswith metabolic syndrome.

Yet, despite the potential impact on the value of the healthcare benefit investment, measures specifically targeting themetabolic syndrome continue to be largely under-utilized in theworkplace.

Programs that help employees achieve aggressive lifestylemodifications have been effective in improvement of the employees’health risks, including those metabolic risks that make up themetabolic syndrome.

Focused programming for employees with metabolic syndrome inreducing metabolic risks holds great potential as a high valuehealth benefit investment—for improved health and vitalitywith improved cost outcomes.