More than 36% of U.S. adults are obese, according to the latest figures from the CDC, and the American Medical Association now classifies obesity as a disease, which presents some serious problems for employers when obesity combines with a workplace injury. If you're an employer covered under the workers' comp system, this is what you should know about the change in classification and understand how you can be proactive about the issue.

Obesity may now be a compensatable condition.

When obesity was considered merely a disorder, it wasn't a condition that had to be addressed and treated as part of most workers' comp claims. Now that it's a disease, obesity has to be documented and addressed if it has any bearing at all on the injured worker's ability to heal. That means two practical consequences for insurers:

• Insurers may have to pay for obesity-related counseling, including such things as a dietician's consult, or even pay for weight-loss treatment if weight-loss is necessary to provide treatment for the injury.
• Insurers may have to compensate injured employees for their obesity if there is credible evidence that the obesity resulted in some way from the work-related injury or illness.

For example, in the first scenario, an already-obese employee could break a hip in a fall. If his or her doctor believes that hip replacement is the way to ultimately treat the injury and return the employee to work, the employee's weight might be an issue that precludes surgery. As a result, the employee would be entitled to weight-loss counseling and other weight-loss assistance (potentially including costly lap-band procedures) just so that he or she can get the work injury treated.

In the second scenario, a worker claims that the obesity itself is one of the injuries he or she suffered as a result of the on-the-job injury. The employee was of average weight before he or she got a back injury while lifting something at work. Over the following months, he or she became less active, which caused a little weight gain. Perhaps he or she was prescribed steroids to help relieve some of the pain and swelling—but these drugs also caused serious appetite changes and weight gain. The worker ends up legally obese, and the obesity can be listed as a condition for which he or she should be compensated.

Identify workers who may have an obesity issue as quickly as possible.

The sooner you identify workers who may have an obesity issue, the faster you will be able to implement programs designed to get him or her back to work. For example, obese patients may need specialized wheelchairs designed for the obese and modified toilets that will make it easier to stand back up without injury. It may be necessary to plan for a longer recovery period in order to avoid trying to send the employee back to work too soon and risking a further re-injury. 

Claims professionals should also try to work with the worker and his or her physician to identify weight-loss plans and weight-management services early in the healing process when they may be the easiest to introduce and the most effective.