A study has found that poor lifestyles among workers in Britain are creating a Å“health time bomb”.
A study has found that poor lifestyles among workers in the UK are creating a Å“health time bomb” leading to premature ageing and lower life expectancies.
Some 10,000 members of staff were surveyed in Britainâ„¢s first Healthiest Company Index, which was intended to deliver companies a better understanding of their workersâ„¢ health and lifestyles.
The research discovered that 86 percent of employees suffer with Vitality Age of 4.1 years older than their real age because of their unhealthy lifestyles, which reduces life expectancy.
Vitality Age estimates years of life lost or gained by taking the presence or absence of certain risk issues into consideration.
Chief executive of the health insurer Neville Koopowitz, said the higher Vitality Age of so many of Britainâ„¢s workers is Å“creating a time bomb for UK Plc”, and said British companies will have to pick up the increasing cost of sick pay.
Factors taken into consideration include Body Mass Index (BMI), cholesterol levels and blood pressure, blood glucose levels, smoking, alcohol, nutrition, exercise, stress and well-being.
Nearly a third (31.2 percent) of UK workers have three or more risk factors, putting them at serious risk of unhealthiness, while the biggest contributing factors for a higher Vitality Age are lack of exercise and obesity.
Men aged between 40 and 49 are the group most likely to have a higher Vitality Age.
BGH/MOL/HE
This article originally appeared on: Press TV