Reduced disability and health care costs in an industrial fitness program.

A prospective longitudinal study of a group of participants in an industrial physical fitness program during a five-year period compares the disability and major medical costs incurred by the subjects before and after entry into the program. The members of the cohort were employees of an insurance company; most were well educated and held sedentary, white-collar jobs. Participation was voluntary and without financial incentives. The group experienced 45.7% reduction in major medical costs in the postentry year, rather than the expected inflationary increase. There was a reduction of 20.1% in the average number of disability days, and a 31.7% reduction in direct disability dollar costs in the one-year postentry period. The average combined savings per participant were $353.38; the average operational cost was $120.60. Results suggest that work-site wellness programs can make a substantial contribution to the reduction of health care and disability costs.