Obesity Week Forum: Employee Wellness or Hellness?
Mark your calendar. On Tuesday during Obesity Week, the Obesity Society Advocacy Committee will sponsor a forum, “Weight Bias, Employment, and Wellness Programs.” Expect a lively discussion because employee wellness programs have generated considerable controversy over the last year. Twice as many employers are expected to start imposing employee wellness penalties next year, so the controversy is likely to grow.
Sound wellness programs based on a corporate culture of health can do a lot of good. But they can easily become an excuse for cost shifting to people with chronic diseases and a subterfuge for discrimination.
Here are the details.
Logistics
Tuesday, Nov 12, 1:30pm
Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Room A411
Title: Weight Bias, Employment, and Wellness Programs
Research documenting significant economic and career penalties for people with obesity continues to emerge. With the implementation of Obamacare, more and more employers are creating financial incentives tied to health outcomes, including BMI. Join us for a lively presentation of recent evidence, trends, and policy implications.
Agenda
1:30 Introduction
Ted Kyle, TOS Advocacy Chair
1:40 Fairness in Wellness – Implications of Weight Bias and Access to Care
Joe Nadglowski
CEO, Obesity Action Coalition
2:00 Evidence for Sound Workplace Weight Loss Programs
Jennifer Lovejoy
Senior Vice President, Clinical Development & Support, Alere Wellbeing
2:20 Employee Wellness Practices and Impact of the ACA
Mark G. Wilson
Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens
2:40 Discussion
Moderated by Deborah Bade Horn
Vice President, American Society of Bariatric Physicians
3:00 Adjourn
Click here to read more about sound employee wellness programs.
Escalator to Hell or Stairway from Heaven, photograph © Sven Seiler / flickr
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