The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) is out with a new study showing that the duration of benefits paid out to obese workers who file claims is more than five times as long as it is for claims filed by their healthy-weight counterparts.

To arrive at that figure, NCCI researchers matched claims that were comparable in every way, except for weight of the claimant and age at the time of injury. They then used a device to minimize the potential impact of age.

And they examined claims provided by insurance companies in 40 states over a period of 11 years.

The findings reinforce several earlier studies, including one by Duke University.

The Duke study found that medical costs for morbidly obese employees were almost seven times as high, that morbidly obese workers were twice as likely to file claims, and that when they missed time, obese workers missed almost 13 times as many days as their non-obese co-workers.

It’s increasingly clear that just about anything you can do to help overweight employees trim down is likely to be a good investment.

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A report (PDF) by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) says an aging workforce may have a less negative impact on comp costs than originally thought.

The old theory went something like this: Baby boomers (those currently 47-66 years old) are postponing retirement. That’s created an older workforce which in turn leads to higher workers’ comp costs because older workers take longer to heal after an injury.

Here’s the reality, according to NCCI: It’s not really about baby boomers. Older workers do tend to have higher comp costs, as long as you define “older” as people above age 34. But costs don’t increase as they reach their 40s, 50s and 60s. All groups aged 35 to 64 have similar costs per worker. Employees 20 to 24 have markedly lower costs, and those 25 to 34 are in the middle.

Another conventional wisdom struck down by the report: Younger workers have much higher injury rates. Now, that’s no longer the case.

One difference in costs for the over and under 35 groups is in the severity of injuries. Older workers tend to have more rotator cuff and knee injuries while younger employees have more back and ankle sprains. Severity for older workers is roughly 50% higher than for their younger counterparts.

Another reason why costs are higher for the over-35 set: They make more money. Older workers received 26% more in average temporary benefits per day than those younger than 35.

What do you think about this study? Let us know in the comments below.

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