Could an office cake ban be on the cards? Bringing sweet treats into work could be perceived to be as harmful to colleagues as passive smoking, according to the chair of the Food Standards Agency.
Susan Jebb, who is also a professor of diet and population health at the University of Oxford, said staff could not rely on the “extraordinary efforts” of personal willpower if colleagues continued to bring treats into work.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Times newspaper, she compared this to people having no choice but to be exposed to passive smoking.
“If nobody brought cakes into the office, I would not eat cakes in the day. But because people do bring cakes in, I eat them. Now, OK, I have made a choice, but people were making a choice to go into a smoky pub,” she said.
“With smoking, after a very long time we have got to a place where we understand that individuals have to make some effort but that we can make their efforts more successful by having a supportive environment. But we still don’t feel like that about food.”
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According to a report last summer by The Food Foundation, excess weight and obesity is costing the UK £72 billion every year through NHS costs, lost productivity at work and reduced life expectancy.
The Times launched a year-long inquiry into the NHS and social care in England this week, where former Marks & Spencer chief Stuart Rose called for workplaces to do more for people’s health.
Rose said that businesses already faced reporting requirements on diversity and inclusion and should have a “legal obligation to do something about our employees’ health”.
Professor Jebb also urged the government to rethink its recent decision to delay the introduction of a TV watershed for junk food advertising.
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