[Cafferty:] Some of America's top companies are announcing the battle of the bulge. Companies like Ford, Pepsico and General Mills announcing programs to try to combat obesity among members of their workforce. Here's the thinking. Heavy, overweight employees tend to suffer more health problems than normal sized employees. And health problems cost the companies money. Ergo there is some pressure now going to be applied to employees or incentives, if you will, to try to get them to lose weight and therefore, in the long run, cut some of these corporate health benefit costs. Helen Darling is the President and CEO of a Washington based business group on health whose institute on the costs and health effects of obesity launched this move. And she joins us now from Washington, D.C. It's nice to have you with us. Welcome.
[Helen Darling, Washington Business Group On Health:] Thank you very much. It's nice to be here.
[Cafferty:] So do my bosses here at CNN have the right to pick up the phone and say, hey, Cafferty, you better drop about 20 pounds, we don't like the way you're looking these days? I mean, they probably don't like the way I'm looking. But do they have the right to tell me to lose weight?
[Darling:] Well, that's not what this program is about. This program is really aimed at trying to help all employees and their families, their loved ones to understand the severe disease consequences of serious overweight or obesity so that they can have a higher quality of life, especially as they get older. So this is about making information available and helping employees in the work place. For example, if there's a cafeteria, the vending machines, to make certain that there are healthy choices in the cafeteria, that things are done like opening up the stairwells internal to buildings so people if they go to a meeting, they walk up the stairs instead of getting on the elevator as a choice. And it'd be something like a sign on the elevator, did you think about walking. And the elevator may be I'm sorry. The stairs may be painted, and there may be music so that you go to the meeting, and you have a different attitude and different feeling because you've come up a couple of flights. You feel better. You've had a little bit of a positive feeling listening to the music. And you go the meeting, and you feel better.
[Serwer:] Helen, let me jump in here. Of course, everyone is concerned about obesity and thinks America needs to shape up. But aren't you concerned programs like yours are just going to aid and abet trial lawyers who seem to have jumped on this issue and are trying to go after companies that make anything sweet or anything fattening? You know, is fat the next tobacco? Are you concerned about that?
[Darling:] No, not really. I mean, what we're trying to do is to get information in people's hands as fast as possible. Such things as one out of three children born in the year 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control, will develop diabetes unless they change their eating habits and their exercise, how physically fit they are. So we're trying to send a positive message. We believe that organizations will respond by giving positive choices and information. And that the American people will actually change how much they exercise and how much they walk and do all sorts of things and what they choose to eat. And we'll see companies competing on providing healthy choices. That's the American way.
[Lisovicz:] Helen, a lot of your suggestions make a lot of sense. You know, better food in the cafeterias, encourage employees to walk up the stairs instead of the elevators. But health care costs, one of the biggest issues that divide employers and employees do you suggest at all that people who are chronically overweight and don't really try to do anything to shape up pay more in terms of their health care costs?
[Darling:] Well, I think that over time it's possible that just as we have a smoking differential on life insurance premiums, and some companies have it on a health insurance premium, that that might become possible, that there would be some relationship. But it's more likely that in the short-term and by that, I mean in the next five years we will be offering collectively programs on a voluntary basis. When people understand the devastating impact of obesity on themselves and on their loved ones and what will happen when they're older especially that they will want to voluntarily participate in programs. For example, getting health risk appraisals that give them information about what their problems are, their medical problems and provide them with incentives and health coaches. And a lot of programs that are aimed at making them have a much better quality of life.
[Cafferty:] OK. Helen, let me ask you this. If I habitually violate company safety rules and thereby put my fellow workers at risk, the company has every right to fire me. If I refuse to lose weight and thereby I'm one of those who incur exaggerated health care costs putting the financial security of my fellow employees at risk, why shouldn't the company be able to fire me after a certain period of time if I refuse to lose the weight and come into compliance with some sort of guidelines?
[Darling:] Well, it's interesting. I haven't heard anybody from our world, health benefits or health care talk about things like that or even think about it. We have just discovered essentially that we have an epidemic of obesity. The intent is and that's why these companies have come together to say if we provide information, and if we provide people with options, and we make it easier for them to change their lifestyle, then, in fact, this will have a positive effect. And nothing like that would ever have to happen.
[Cafferty:] All right. Well, it'll be interesting to see as time goes on how intense the battle becomes. In the meantime, I appreciate you joining us here on In The Money. Interesting stuff. Thank you.
[Darling:] Thank you.
[Cafferty:] Helen Darling, president and CEO of Washington Business Group on Health. Coming up, in the market for a profit? Well, who isn't? More and more investors heading back to Wall Street. We were talking about a three month long stock rally. Find out whether you can bring cash into your own bank account by betting on one of the investment houses, like, for example, Schwab. And later, the making of a blockbuster. From Hillary Clinton to Harry Potter, we'll look at how the publishing industry is change the way America reads. Plus welcome to the executive suite. With more and more CEOs in trouble with the law, we will ask Andy Borowitz for a guided tour of America's corporate scandals and see if he knows which of them might fare well when they go to the big house. Stay with us.