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According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity remains a serious health epidemic in the U.S., with more than one third (78.6 million) of adults medically defined as such. If untreated, obesity can lead to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

Consequently, obesity can exact a high toll on health care costs. “Currently, estimates for these costs range from $147 billion to nearly $210 billion per year,” said The State of Obesity, an annual report sponsored by both the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “In addition, obesity is associated with job absenteeism, costing approximately $4.3 billion annually and with lower productivity while at work, costing employers $506 per obese worker per year.”

Because of the gravity of this condition, coupled with its rising prevalence, weight loss has become an important component of many corporate wellness programs. However, simply prescribing a generic regimen of healthy food choices to those who are seriously overweight may not be entirely effective as factors that include behavior, environment and genetics, can affect a person’s weight. Some individuals might require a more customized approach based on their own dietary needs.

In this vein, it might behoove a company to hire a dietitian for its wellness initiatives. But the question is will this addition be worth the return on investment?

Madeleine Berg, a corporate nutrition specialist, told Today’s Dietitian in a June 2015 article that registered dietary nutritionists (RDNs) are imperative to the success of corporate wellness programs.

“RDNs are the face of worksite wellness,” she said. “It's our job to educate, engage, empower, inspire, and motivate employees to make health changes.”

Whether it’s via personalized coaching, motivational sessions, cooking demos and individually tailored diets, dietitians can play significant roles in helping obese and/or overweight employees make lifestyle changes resulting in weight loss. Also, they can conduct health screenings and assessments that can alert employee of health risks.

Lindsey Mariano, an RDN and health coach, told Today’s Dietitian in the same article that these screenings can be a “godsend” to employees. “For example, health risks such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high glucose levels often exist without easily recognizable symptoms. Screenings help detect these risks so the individual can work on improving them before they reach a serious chronic stage.”

Citing a study published by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Huffington Post noted that “for every $1 spent on nutrition counseling with a registered dietitian, $4 was saved. Additionally, subjects with type 2 diabetes who received nutrition counseling from a registered dietitian reduced their risk of work days lost by 64 percent and their risk of disability days by 87 percent,” according to another article in the same health journal.

Another benefit is that this type of nutrition counseling is recognized by most insurance plans, noted the Huffington Post. “As a result, company employees may be eligible to meet one-on-one with a registered dietitian for free or low cost if covered by their existing insurance plan.”

However, not all dietitians are created equal. For companies contemplating hiring a dietitian for their wellness initiatives, make sure he or she is an RDN or a serious health professional, who “is closely regulated by the Commission on Dietetic Registration, which requires strict adherence with specific academic course work, a college degree, a supervised internship program much like a doctor completes a residency, successfully completing the registration exam, and continuing education.”