Millions of people across England with
obesity are seeing their weight negatively impact their work,
reveals a new report by IPPR.
To counter damage to the economy, and
to people's lives, the report urges the government to commit to
creating an obesity-free generation, through building a healthier
food system – including a crackdown on ultra-processed
foods.
Poor public health in England is
substantially impacting both the size of the workforce and
people's productivity. However, this is not felt equally across
the country. Four out of five of the worst constituencies for
obesity and economic inactivity are in the North, while four out
of five of the best are all in the
South.
Constituencies such as Wansbeck (North
East), Redcar (North East), North Durham (North East), Blackpool
North (North West) and Sunderland South (North East) all have
obesity rates of over 15 per cent and economic inactivity rates
of over 45 per cent, researchers
found.
Over three in 10 adults have obesity
in the most deprived parts of England compared to close to two in
10 of adults in the least deprived.
In addition to barriers to economic
participation, people living with obesity who are in work are
more likely to find their health negatively impacts their work,
partially due to a higher risk of becoming sick. Over half of
people with obesity (55 per cent) reported attending work while
sick, and that their sickness impacted their work, according to
new analysis by IPPR, using YouGov data. This is equivalent to
2.2 million people over a four-week
period.
The report makes clear that obesity is
not an individual problem or a matter of personal blame, but
rather a societal issue deeply rooted in poverty – and
accentuated by our work and food
systems.
While obesity is clearly bad for the
economy, there are certain elements of the economy which are bad
for obesity. A significant number of workers say that due to
their current work-life balance, they rarely or
never:
-
Exercise as much as they would like
(37 per cent)
-
Cook and eat healthy meals (15 per
cent)
-
Plan meals in advance (19 per
cent)
-
Not feel tired after work, in the
last four weeks (23 per cent)
The UK has the third highest
proportion of people with obesity in the OECD, affecting one in
four adults, costing the UK economy an estimated £98bn every
year.
The report says that for too long, the
government has focused on individual responsibility when it comes
to obesity, but this approach has failed the health and
prosperity of the nation.
The polling for IPPR found that around
half of the public supports increasing taxes (52 per cent) and
regulation (59 per cent) on ultra-processed food and drink
manufacturers – compared to less than 10 per cent who want to see
taxes and regulation decrease. Tackling this epidemic would be
good for public health, good for the economy, and good for
levelling up.
The think tank is calling on the
government to deliver an obesity-free generation, through
introducing policies such as:
-
Fixing the food
system, by using
taxes and regulation to make the healthy option the cheaper
option
-
Using government procurement
contracts to ensure
ultra-processed foods are not being served in schools and
hospitals
-
Working with
employers to create
conditions that promote the health and wellbeing of
employees
Dr Jamie O'Halloran, senior
research fellow at IPPR,
said:
“Poor public health is holding
back the UK economy, and obesity is playing a significant role.
The poorest regions across England are feeling this epidemic the
worst.
“This is not the fault of
individuals. The government's laissez-faire approach to public
health has been a failed experiment. We need our institutions to
step up to regulate unhealthy food, use taxes and subsidies to
make the healthy option the cheaper option, and invest in the
NHS, local councils and education so that health can be the
cornerstone of UK prosperity.”
ENDS
NOTES TO
EDITORS
- YouGov conducted nationally representative polling of 2041
respondents, of whom 319 were in employment and gave details on
their BMI.
-
Map
- Rates of economic inactivity were from published statistics
from the ONS and rates of obesity fromActive Lives Adult Survey,
Sport England.
