Obesity
Employee obesity has been in the spotlight since the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision in FOA, acting on behalf of Karsten Kaltoft v Billund Kommune in late 2014. In the case, the ECJ held that it is possible for obesity to constitute a disability under discrimination laws.
It did not take long for the UK courts and tribunals to apply this ruling. In early 2015, a Northern Ireland tribunal in Bickerstaff v Butcher upheld an individual's complaint of harassment after comments were made at work about his weight.
Average adult feels breathless after ‘light to moderate’ exercise
The average adult feels breathless six times a week, often as a result of “light to moderate” exercise, a study...
Toolkit encourages employers to promote healthy eating and exercise
Business in the Community and Public Health England have published a toolkit to help employers encourage healthier eating and exercise...
Diabetes diagnoses have doubled in the last 20 years
The number of people diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled in the last 20 years to almost 3.7 million....
Easy access to unhealthy food increasing millennials’ obesity risk
More than seven in 10 ‘millennials’ – people born between the early 1980s and mid 1990s – are expected to...
Hospital bans sugary food and drinks to reduce staff obesity
A hospital in Manchester has banned the sale of sugary food and drinks from its restaurant in a bid to...
Managing obesity in the workplace
Employers dealing with obesity in the workplace have to contend with misunderstanding, stigma, lifestyles outside work and several other issues....
Is national adult physical activity guidance fit for all?
There is much evidence of the health benefits of national adult physical activity guidance, but more research is needed on...
Does workplace health promotion work? A review of the evidence
Questions raised about the quality of studies reporting return on investment from workplace health promotion initiatives make it worth examining...
Occupational health research round-up for August 2017
This month’s look at occupational health research studies includes reports on the rising cost to employers of lifestyle illnesses and...
Sedentary middle-aged office workers’ health at risk
Most middle-aged office staff now spend as much time sitting down as pensioners, research has suggested, and in the process...
Workplace wellbeing strategies linked to HR goals are on the rise
Higher numbers of employers have adopted workplace wellbeing strategies in the past year than in previous years and they are...
Obesity survey finds more than one in four English adults are overweight
New obesity figures have suggested that the average man in England now weighs nearly a stone more than he did...
Government report shows links between work and drug and alcohol addiction
The Government’s long-awaited review into the links between work and addiction was published in December.
The review by Dame Carol...
Obesity discrimination: UK disability laws incompatible with EU directive
UK laws preventing discrimination against people based on their size should
Obesity discrimination: study reveals prejudice among employers
“Obese workers are unable to play a full role in the business,” “they wouldn’t be able to do the job...
