How can Businesses Stop the UK becoming Europe's Fattest Nation?
The alarming statistics surrounding obesity, related health issues and mortality has created an epidemic level sense of urgency. But why is the UK set to become Europe’s fattest nation?
KNOWLEDGE
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The cost-of-living crisis, especially amongst more deprived populations has resulted in more families eating irregular and processed meals.
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There is a Lack of education on health and wellbeing across the nation, with staggering statistics often neglected in media reports. For example:
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The World Health Organisation reported obesity not only shortens an individual's life by an average of 9 years but also contributes significantly to the epidemic-level incidence of cancer cases.
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There is a 400% difference in mortality rates between the lowest 25% decile of people who exercise and the top 2%.
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Fad Diets: Those who do attempt to make healthy lifestyle choices often do so for ‘quick weight loss’, most likely following a marketing campaign found on social media. Most ‘fad diets’ have a huge 95% failure rate. Why? Because behaviour is linked with reward, and as soon as people reach their reward, their ‘healthy diet’ quickly becomes a punishment opposed to a means to a reaching a goal. Why would we continue drinking weight loss shakes when we have achieved our goal weight? It isn’t sustainable.
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Obesity related illnesses have caused a 13% hike in hospital admissions, reaching 8,716 in 2023, only set to increase further.
Health and wellbeing has become almost obligatory in scoring high on social value tender responses. But addressing the health and wellbeing of employees does not only serve to benefit organisations in terms of gaining business, but has been evidenced to improve the productivity of employees, retention rates, and the overarching health of society.
IMPACT
A key strategy is to foster a workspace where health becomes contagious – an environment where work is associated with satisfaction, achievement, and mutual support. By integrating education, exercises and team activities, companies can link weight management to camaraderie and a sense of community, a reward its employees will continue to value even when goal weights have been achieved. This approach not only encourages healthy habits but also fosters a sense of community and purpose among employees. For example:
Implementing realistic breaks and fitness blocks throughout/after the working day can include:
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Lunchtime activities: including daily walking/running groups or weekly yoga classes
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Standing or Walking Meetings: encourage standing or walking meetings instead of traditional seated meetings. This promotes movement throughout the workday and can enhance creativity and productivity
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Outdoor Team Sports: organise outdoor team sports such as soccer, basketball, or volleyball. These activities foster teamwork, camaraderie, and physical fitness.
To target healthy eating habits, organisations can consider:
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Providing Nutritional Education e.g., deliver annual workshops/seminars with a nutritionist who can educate employees about the importance of healthy eating, how to make nutritious food choices, portion control, and reading food labels.
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Encouraging participation in initiatives e.g., workplace wellness challenges or programs focused on healthy eating habits, team-based challenges, tracking food intake, or cooking demonstrations. This can be off the back of nutrition workshops/seminars.
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Subsidize or Discount Healthy Options: offer discounts or subsidies on healthy food items to encourage employees to choose them over less healthy options
TACTICS
Social Value Model example
Corporate Wellness Programme
To promote health and wellbeing, BeyondNow will implement a comprehensive corporate wellness program including fitness activities, nutrition education, and personalised plans; providing holistic support for employees' health and wellbeing:
Education
Our initiative will begin with an annual health and wellbeing day, where a nutritionist from XX will educate our employees on the importance of healthy eating, how to make nutritious food choices, how to make an achievable food/activity plan and sustainable lifestyle changes. This will be delivered in the form of an online seminar once a year which every staff member will be invited to.
Physical Activity
As part of this initiative, we will ensure that all staff members have access to physical activity including:
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Weekly yoga break sessions delivered in the office. Each session will run for 30 minutes and will be timetabled during the working day. We will partner with XX to deliver these sessions, as we aim to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of our staff.
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Sports Teams: we will organise outdoor team sports such as 5-a-side football to foster teamwork, camaraderie, and physical fitness. Sports events will take place weekly at XX.
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Working walks: we will provide 30-minute walking meeting slots twice a week for staff to use during the working day (when meetings consist of no more than 3 people). This will allow colleagues to share creativity and productivity whilst keeping active.
Nutrition
BeyondNow will work in partnership with local healthy food establishments e.g., XX where we will provide staff with discount vouchers, encouraging them to make healthy food choices. We will also keep a supply of healthy snacks in the office, available for free to all staff. To encourage people to take part in this initiative, every staff member will be provided with a diary during the initial education seminar, where they can log their food/physical activity achievements.
We will deliver internal workplace challenges where teams will be rewarded on their attendance to activity sessions, fitness competitions and healthy eating habits, with all evidence tracked and maintained in their personal logs.
Obesity is contagious. If we create a workspace where health becomes contagious, our employees will associate their workplace environment with satisfaction and achievement; not only improving job satisfaction but delivering sustainable health habits throughout the entire organisation and, by extension, society.
Published by
Emma Smith
Co-Founder | Bid Writer