Obesity, fitness, willingness to communicate and health care costs

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Abstract
PRONK, N. P., A. W. H. TAN, and P. O’CONNOR. Obesity, fitness, willingness to communicate and health care costs. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 11, pp. 1535–1543, 1999. Obesity and low levels of physical fitness are independently associated with a variety of diseases and disorders. These conditions are modifiable and affect health care utilization. The degree to which these health risks are modifiable is directly related to the readiness of individuals to change the underlying behaviors. This study analyzes the relationship between health care costs, obesity, physical fitness, and willingness to communicate. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that willingness to communicate is directly associated with an individual’s readiness to change behavior. Multiple regression was used to estimate the relationship between adverse behavioral health outcomes, willingness to communicate, and annualized health care costs incurred over a period of 33 months before the completion of a health risk assessment survey in an employed population enrolled in a Midwestern managed care organization (N = 8822). High body mass index (BMI), low physical fitness (predicted V̇O2max), and greater willingness to communicate were directly and significantly (P 2max The prevalence of obesity and low physical fitness is high, and these health risks are directly related to health care costs. Willingness of health plan members to communicate around health improvement opportunities appears greatest among those who incur higher costs, and these patients also have more favorable readiness to change profiles. Effective, proactive population-based health improvement efforts appear to have significant potential for positive economic impact.