Leaders often describe their organization as “agile,” “nimble,” “responsive.”

But if an organization’s culture is the sum of its behavior, few of your employees are as lively and quick as you would want them to be.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than one billion adults globally are overweight, at least 300 million of them clinically obese. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates more than 63% of Americans are overweight or obese. And these numbers may be reflected in your employees or workforce.

Study after study shows that overweight workers cost themselves, their colleagues, and their organization plenty, here are just three examples of how obesity is affecting the workplace:

Lost work. Overweight and obese employees miss more days from work due to short-term absences than healthy employees, and these unfit employees also may work at less than full capacity. If at all they work under extreme conditions, they might face work-related injuries and in the worst case, a disability even. Having TPD insurance at the first go might help them for the future (learn more here). But, how would they reach such a point? This can be because of a weaker immune system as well as a higher chance for certain health conditions to develop – both of which are associated with obesity. Obesity is also associated with stress and poor-self esteem which also affects one’s ability to work.

Higher health and life insurance costs. While there are plenty of different policies available for employers to choose from, saving money on insurance premiums can be hard with obese workers.

If they can’t get covered by their employers, they often need to look into this policy genius review and find a policy that covers them for all the health issues caused by obesity. The previous paragraphs highlighted that obesity is associated with the development of health conditions, which can drive premium prices up due to the associated risks.

Employers overall pay higher life insurance premiums and spend more for workers’ compensation for overweight and obese employees. This FAQ might help you understand why life insurance policies can vary from person to person.

Lower wages. Some studies indicate that obesity is associated with lower wages and lower household income. While a few of these studies indicate that low income can be a cause of obesity and not a result there are other factors to consider as well. For example, obese workers are often paying more for medicine and transportation costs.

It’s true that CEOs lose their jobs every year because they failed to hold their employees accountable to the performance expectations of boards and shareholders.