Almost one in five male workers (19%) are obese, with slightly fewer women (16%) found to have a BMI of obese. Men working in media are most likely to be obese (24%), followed by manufacturing (22%), medical workers (21%) and those working in the pharmaceutical industry (21%).
  
This is according to results that are collated from 13,266 health screenings carried out across industry sectors by laya healthcare, Ireland’s largest corporate health and wellbeing provider, revealed today in the run up to Workplace Wellbeing Day which takes place on Friday, 13th April.
  
Eighty percent of those surveyed admit that poor sleep has affected their energy and mood in the past month, with almost one in five (18%) admitting that sleep deprivation is affecting them ‘a lot’. One in four (24%) admit to “often barely managing financially” from pay day to pay day and more than half (53%) admit they experience General Anxiety “some” or “most days”.
  
The recommended weekly alcohol limits are guided by experts at 17 ‘standard drinks’ (110g pure alcohol) for men, and 11 for women. Most workers claim to drink within these guidelines – the majority of women in employment (60%) drink between one and seven standard drinks of alcohol per week. Less than 1% of men (0.66%) admit to drinking more than 17 standard drinks each week
  
Commenting on the findings, Director of Wellbeing and Corporate Sales at laya healthcare, Patricia Hyland said, "It’s fascinating the patterns that emerge when you take a holistic view of company health scores, for example those working in the technology sector tend to be younger, more physically fit and healthy yet their emotional wellbeing can often be well below the average score."

He added, "The key is interpreting the data to customise a programme of health and wellbeing that’s an absolute fit for a company and identifying the hidden connections between the health and wellbeing metrics that give rigour and depth to workplace wellbeing programmes."

Source: www.businessworld.ie