Bosses Asked To Wage War On Obesity Crisis By Mixing Work With Play

“Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, believes that employers could promote a more active lifestyle through their corporate social responsibility schemes. He will put his proposals, part of a broader Active England campaign before the London 2012 Olympics, to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and CBI in the next month. ‘A healthy workforce is a more productive workforce,’ he said. The corporate sector may argue that it already shoulders some of the responsibility for a fitter nation through subsidised gym membership and cycle-to-work schemes. But British companies are being called on to do more amid widespread fears about rising obesity levels in Britain. More than a quarter of children and young people will be obese by 2050, by which time the public cost of treating related diseases is forecast to have increased by £45.5 billion, according to government research.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3897054.ece