More than 600,000 people in the UK are unable to work because of obesity-related health problems, according to a study by the University of York. Researchers analyzed data from over 284,000 participants in the UK Biobank biomedical database, reports infohub.kz.
According to The Telegraph, around 15 million Britons are overweight. About 4% of them are unable to work specifically due to obesity consequences. The researchers also noted that men are more likely than women to leave the labor market prematurely because of this condition.
The authors warn that rising obesity rates are placing additional strain on the UK economy. People diagnosed with obesity take sick leave roughly twice as often as employees with normal weight. These findings align with UK government estimates linking obesity to higher absenteeism and billions of pounds in annual productivity losses.
In response, the government is expanding measures to tackle obesity. In June, the UK government announced the launch of 12 pilot projects to improve care for people with obesity. These include simplified access to modern weight-loss drugs, digital services, AI-based tools, and remote patient monitoring. The total funding for the program is £85 million (about 54 billion tenge), with contributions from the state and pharmaceutical company Lilly.
Earlier, UK authorities had already intensified efforts against obesity: restricting daytime advertising of high-sugar and high-fat foods, considering changes to school meals, and continuing to expand access to modern weight-loss drugs through the National Health Service (NHS).