Brits should be made to have their waistlines measured at work, according to a prominent obesity campaigner.
And their bosses would even face fines if too many of their workers are too fat under the proposed Japanese-style measure.
Calls for the action come after a study suggested time off work for obesity-related illness is seriously hampering British economic growth.
The unpublished study found overweight people were 22 per cent more likely to take off at least seven sick days a year compared to their healthy colleagues.
When this was combined with those who were obese it could account for up 60 per cent of nation taking leave because of weight-related issues like diabetes or heart disease.
Calls for the Japanese style measure to be introduced in the UK comes after a study suggested time off work for obesity-related illness is seriously hampering British economic growth (stock image)
Tam Fry from The National Obesity Forum said the answer to Britain’s weight-related workforce problem was to take inspiration from Japan and its ‘metabo’ law.
The law, brought in in 2008, requires all Japanese workers between the age of 40 and 70 to have their waists measured by their employer once a year.
If an employer has too many fat employees, they can face government fines.
Workers are protected from being fired, leading to employer-led incentives to help them lose weight, from company exercise programmes to referrals to weight management courses.
Mr Fry said the system worked incredibly well and called for a similar measure to be introduced in the UK to address the ‘horrendous’ obesity epidemic.
‘Japan has got an obesity level of 6 per cent, we have an obesity level of 28 per cent,’ he said.
‘We’ve got to start taking measures like [that] in order to reduce what is now a horrendous problem.’
However, he added that other additional measures should also be considered
He added that damage wasn’t just to people’s health but the economy as well.
‘The damage to the Exchequer is really quite dramatic,’ he said.
‘Where you’ve got so many of the workforce not able to go to work is going to cause a real headache somewhere.’
Mr Fry said ministers could no longer afford to fear being labelled as instruments of the ‘nanny-state’ or give in to critics saying such measures were ‘at shaming or an infringement of civil liberties’.
‘We are losing £98billion a year as a result of obesity and the many problems that it triggers,’ he said.
‘Medical issues, people not turning up to work effecting production, and (as a result) having a weaker economy.’
He said while a British metabo style law could look quite different from the Japanese original he said the point was to do something within the workspace.
‘You send them to weight management courses, in all these things if you have somebody who is overweight you don’t just sit there and say “tough”. You do something about it,’ he said.
He acknowledged that such a move would potentially be unpopular, but he pointed out so were seatbelts laws when they were first introduced.
‘”How dare the Government tell us to put on our seatbelts every time we drive a car”, and if you didn’t put on your seatbelt you got fined,’ he said.
‘So now everybody puts on their seatbelts.’
But even if the Government turned round tomorrow and promised to introduce a metabo style law Mr Fry said it wouldn’t be a quick fix and other anti-obesity measures would still be needed.
‘It’ll take a bit of time if were to introduce something like that in this country,’ he said.
‘But the fact is it works.’
The researchers of the new study, who presented their findings at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice, revealed the UK is ‘among the worst’ of 28 countries they examined for obesity absenteeism.
Data for the UK showed that those classed as obese, with a BMI over 30, were almost a quarter (23 per cent) more likely to be absent from work for any period of time. Severely obese people – with a BMI over 40 – were more than twice as likely (118 per cent) to take time off.
Last month, the Prime Minister announced plans to tackle a ‘sick note culture’ with sweeping reforms to the benefit system. But experts said the plans stand little chance of success unless ministers tackle obesity.
A report in December showed the UK has the third highest proportion of people with obesity in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, with an estimated yearly cost to the UK economy of £98billon.
Overall, two thirds of all British adults are now too fat, compared to just half in the mid-90s. Of those, a quarter are obese.
WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?
Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain, according to the NHS
• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count
• Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain
• 30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on
• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower fat and lower sugar options
• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts
• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day
• Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day
Source: NHS Eatwell Guide
