Blade fears that he should dissuade his offspring from a career in IT having received the following press release (but he takes heart in the absence of lawyers and journalists in the list of the UK’s Top 10 Most Inactive Professions):
A study of 1,734 working Brits by the UK’s leading weight loss personal training agency, www.fatfreefitness.co.uk has found that people who worked in I.T. in jobs such as website design, development and technical support exercised the least out of all the professions nationwide, with fewer than 1 in 5 agreeing that they met government activity guidelines of half an hour of moderate exercise, 5 times a week.
The study found that 63% of Brits are failing to meet the set activity guidelines. The average person in the UK is active for just 1 hour 30 minutes a week.
Receptionists are the second most inactive group of professionals in the country, followed closely by sales people, with just 26% and 28% respectively admitting to hitting recommended activity targets.
With regards to the unhealthiest diets in the UK, people who work in I.T. again feature highly.
Just 14% claim to eat five instances of fruit and vegetables throughout the day, whilst their caffeine intake is the highest nationwide – on average, I.T. workers admitted to drinking the caffeine equivalent of 10 cups of coffee a day, 2 cups more than the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of 800mg. Half of the I.T. workers who responded to the study claimed to drink energy drinks every single day.
Office workers are most likely to snack in between meals, with just fewer than 3 in 4, 73%, of people who work on a computer all working day admitting that they regularly pick at sugary food at their desk.
The most inactive professions in the UK by % reaching government activity targets:
1. I.T. workers – 19%
2. Receptionists – 26%
3. Salespeople – 28%
4. Checkout operators– 31%
5. Marketing – 33%
6. Customer services – 37%
7. Administrative workers – 38%
8. Taxi drivers – 41%
9. Retail workers – 45%
10. Shop attendants – 47%
Amongst the most active professions in the UK are manual workers such as bricklayers where 78% agreed to meeting government activity targets and construction workers, 84% of whom exercise for more than 2 and a half hours a week. 9 in 10 fitness professionals agreed to being active in accordance with guidelines.
Weight loss expert Rich Leigh, personal trainer and founder of weight loss agency Fat Free Fitness, had the following to say,
“There is clearly a correlation between sitting at a desk or wheel all day and how active you’re likely to be.”
Rich is of the belief that both employers and the government could be doing more to improve the health and activity of the UK workforce:
“I personally believe that the government and employers could be doing more to encourage staff activity by organising staff sports and activities at lunch and outside of work. Some gyms and health clubs offer larger organisations company membership discounts, but where do the small businesses fit into this? The government spent millions last year on obesity and healthy eating campaigns, but aren’t talking the language of the times. People are leaving gyms and becoming less active and it’s because on the whole, people can’t afford them. Incentivise exercise by funding small business gym discounts, and I guarantee healthier workers.
“It’s not a case of having a workforce of 2012 Olympic hopefuls, but ensuring that the provisions and opportunities are there for them to both participate in activity and learn about healthy eating.
“A study by the Physical Activity Taskforce in 2003 found that physically active employees take 27% fewer days sick leave, meaning that the benefits for employers far outweigh the relatively low effort needed to tackle the issue. A healthier national workforce would undoubtedly equal a healthier British economy.”
Fat Free Fitness Weightloss Agency is a Gloucestershire-based company that partners people who wish to lose weight with qualified and experienced trainers and diet experts whilst enabling them to track their weightloss journey online through personalised updates. The agency’s unique ‘Lbs for £s’ programme means that the more weight a client loses, the more money they save along the way. For instance, if a client loses 4lbs from training session A to training session B, they pay £4 less. Free weightloss progress tracking tools are available on the site.
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