Originally published September 28 2005
Microsoft, Starbucks assist employees with weight loss challenges
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Many employers will subsidize the cost of a gym membership or health club for employees trying to watch their weight, but Microsoft, Starbucks and a growing number of companies are taking it a step further by putting forward the majority of monies to pay for obesity treatment programs in order to save money through reduced accessing of medical care.
39-year-old Microsoft program manager Tony Seeley (pictured) was seriously overweight and decided he had to do something about it, so he wrote out a check for $3,500 for a comprehensive obesity treatment program.
Microsoft contributed the other $14,000 of the program's cost.
Now, 130 pounds later, he's running 5K races in downtown Seattle.
Employers have long subsidized gym memberships or even diet club costs, but Microsoft, Starbucks, and a growing number of other employers are beginning to pony up big money in an effort to get their employees to slim down.
The companies think that in the long run the programs will pay off: they have already seen reductions in insurance compensation for arthritis, back pain and gastroesophageal reflux disease medication, as well as overall reduced access to medical care among employees who have undergone the program.
At Microsoft, employees must have a BMI of 30 or over to participate (or a BMI or 27 and certain designated medical conditions); lifetime benefits are capped, so employees only get one chance to shape up.
Eight hundred Microsoft employees have lost a total of 26,000 pounds; 41 Starbucks employees have lost an average of 20 pounds apiece.
Fifty Microsoft employees eventually underwent bariatric surgery.
What do you get in a $17,500 program?:
Presumably, the dietician instructs the Starbucks employees to avoid the 730-calorie Venti Caramel Chocolate Frappuccino with whipped cream, the liquid equivalent of the 725-calorie Elvis fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.
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