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Sedentary staff embarrassed to exercise

Sep 22 2010

Workers prefer to keep their jobs and exercise separate

More than one in three employees are too embarrassed to exercise during their working day.

A study by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) of 1,383 working individuals reveals that 35 per cent don’t want to be seen getting hot and sweaty in front of colleagues.

Some 55 per cent spend more than half their working day sitting or standing still, with nearly half (48 per cent) eating lunch at their desks.

Overall, 81 per cent of UK workers fail to get the recommended amount of exercise a week.

Lisa Purcell, project manager for the BHF’s Health at Work Programme says: ‘Embarassment shouldn’t prevent people from being healthy at work. The payoffs from even simple changes like taking a walk at lunchtime are too great to ignore.’

Simple measures can be put in place to improve the health of company workforces.

Adds Purcell: ‘Swapping tea-break biscuits for fruit or getting the team together for a lunchtime kickaround in the car park can improve productivity, reduce staff turnover and mean fewer sick days.’

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