Obesity and low productivity in the UK go hand in hand, think-tank warns

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Millions of people are unable to work or are less productive because they are obese, according to a report that suggests the condition helps to explain why economic inactivity rates due to sickness in the UK are at record levels.

The Institute for Public Policy Research, a think-tank, is calling on the government to stop treating obesity as a matter of individual responsibility and to tackle “working conditions, changes in the built environment and our broken food system” to reduce the number who are severely overweight.

The UK has the third-highest proportion of people living with obesity in the OECD, affecting one in four adults. Only the US and Chile have higher levels. The IPPR cited a report from Frontier Economics, a consultancy, which said obesity cost the UK an estimated £98bn every year, including through lower productivity.

Since the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people who were economically inactive due to long-term sickness had reached historic highs, the IPPR noted, lending urgency to the search for answers.

“We find a link between economic participation and rates of obesity; areas with high rates of obesity also have high rates of economic inactivity,” the researchers added.

Jamie O’Halloran, senior research fellow at IPPR, said: “Poor public health is holding back the UK economy, and obesity is playing a significant role. The poorest regions across England are feeling this epidemic the worst.” 

The IPPR found four out of five of the parliamentary constituencies with the highest levels of obesity and economic inactivity were in the North, while four out of five of the those with the lowest levels were in the South. 

Constituencies such as Wansbeck, Redcar, North Durham, Blackpool North and Sunderland South all had obesity rates of more than 15 per cent and economic inactivity rates of more than 45 per cent, the researchers found. 

There was also a clear link with poverty, the IPPR’s study showed, with more than three in 10 adults who are severely overweight in the most deprived parts of England compared with close to two in 10 of adults in the least deprived.

The precise link between obesity and an inability to participate in the labour market still needed to be disentangled, the researchers suggested. It might be the case that obesity was preventing them from working but equally those who were economically inactive might struggle to be able to afford to eat healthily or exercise. It could be a combination of the two.

Costs to the economy included productivity losses due to sickness absence rates being higher for those who are severely overweight.

The polling for IPPR found that about half of the public supported increasing taxes (52 per cent) and regulation (59 per cent) on ultra-processed food and drink manufacturers — compared with less than 10 per cent who wanted to see taxes and regulation decrease. 

O’Halloran said the government’s laissez-faire approach to public health had been “a failed experiment”. He added: “We need our institutions to step up to regulate unhealthy food, use taxes and subsidies to make the healthy option the cheaper option, and invest in the NHS, local councils and education so that health can be the cornerstone of UK prosperity.” 

The government said obesity cost the NHS about £6.5bn a year “and we are taking firm action to promote healthier options, while our landmark Soft Drinks Industry Levy has been estimated to have prevented 5,000 cases of obesity”.

In addition, the government had introduced mandatory calorie labelling on menus, as well as restrictions that meant less healthy food could no longer be placed in prime selling locations in supermarkets.

It added: “Our £2.5bn Back to Work Plan will help over a million people, including those with long-term health conditions associated with obesity, to break down barriers to work.”