VitalityHealth analysed lifestyle, behavioural and clinical risk factors for nearly 25,000 employees from 82 companies across the UK. It looked at areas such as diet, weight, smoking, exercise and mental health.
According to the findings, 45% of employees in the North-East don’t do enough physical activity, 29% have elevated blood pressure, 28% have a high body mass index (BMI) and 26% drink too much alcohol. Almost a quarter (22%) of employees in this region exhibit four or more health risk factors.
The UK’s healthiest workers are in London, with 24% at risk of a health issue and only 9% facing four or more risk factors. But there are still areas for improvement, as 28% of the capital’s employees need to exercise more and 12% need to reduce their BMIs.
Worryingly, the research found that 87% of British workers have a ‘health age', which is on average three years and 10 months older than their actual age.
Greg Levine, director of corporate healthcare at VitalityHealth, said: “Health and wellbeing are playing an increasingly important role in how businesses maximise the productivity and happiness of their workforces.
“Clearly there are some areas across the UK where companies need to do more, but if businesses are able to develop a culture in which wellness programmes are integrated into day-to-day life, the benefits for both employees and the company itself will be quickly realised as productivity is improved and the cost of absenteeism is reduced.”
