By Michael Cox
Redwood EBS
AS we enjoy the hottest summer since the year above, a recent picture of Brighton beach in 1976 has stirred much debate on social media and the press. The reason – the beachgoers displayed a noticeable absence of that modern day scourge of society …body fat!
The picture shows hundreds of individuals bikini and trunk clad, with barely (excuse
the pun) a soul carrying excess poundage!
How, in 40 years, have we arrived at a point that in England, 26.2 per cent of adults are obese and 31.2 per cent are overweight, with 20 per cent of Year 6 pupils (10 and 11-year-
olds) again overweight.
The debate has proposed answers that include a society that exercises less, eats more, is overwhelmed by conflicting data on appropriate calorie consumption, fad diets, and is susceptible to unscrupulous advertising aimed at both adults and children from food conglomerates that seek to exploit our predisposition, as humans, for the love of sugar.
Further, the term ‘personal responsibility’ is banded around as a panacea that if we only our willpower was stronger, we’d all avoid the long term medical problems that inevitably result of our poor food choices.
Clearly, this crisis affects individuals and also the corporate world, where employers are addressing the fact that their staff need help and support long term to overcome the obesity epidemic.
How? Through a managed and specifically designed health and well-being policy that includes an EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) that offers counselling and advice with diet and exercise programmes that are proven to impact on the health of participants and most importantly are sustainable and successful.
For advice on accessing and implementing these policies, contact Michael Cox – Senior Health & Well-being Advisor at Redwood Employee Benefits Services on 01604 661144 or email