Did you know that the U.S. loses $1.1 trillion in lost productivity costs because of chronic health conditions?

Did you also know that obesity is related to 20 chronic health conditions?

No matter how loathe we are to admit, obesity is something that costs everyone a lot of money in the long run. This is something quite a few companies are starting to realize:

• Volkswagen employees were sent to a gym to work out for two hours a day. They developed camaraderie, enjoyed lower health-care premiums and did better at their jobs.
• IBM adopted healthier company behavior and saved $190 million a year on health-care costs between 2005 and 2007.
• Johnson & Johnson expanded its wellness programs during the recession years and estimated it saved $565 in health-care costs per employee.
• CitiGroup did the same as Johnson & Johnson and indicated a return of $2 per $1 spent on wellness initiatives.

Physical health isn’t the only factor that will determine how a company succeeds, true, but you can’t deny the fact that healthier workers need less money for health care and are less likely to mess up work because of health-related concerns.

And who knows? You as a money-conscious consumer may find yourself spending less money when you hit the gym a few times a week!