If office workers are able to keep themselves fit and healthy, there is more of a chance they will prove to be long-term assets to their employer.
The pressures of work and family life inevitably take a strain on some people over time, making it all the more important that employees think about the little changes they can make to improve their health.
According to Katharine Greathead, lifestyle officer from Heart Research UK, one positive change office workers can make is to use their lunch break to take some light exercise.
“I think we are perhaps not making our lunch break work for us, we’re sitting at our desks a lot and we’re not choosing the healthier options even though they are out there,” she claimed.
Ms Greathead suggested that exercise during the working day can help improve heart health and begin to tackle the UK’s growing obesity epidemic.
“We all know how beneficial exercise is for heart health,” she noted.
“It is very good for blood pressure, it helps cholesterol levels, reduces your body fat content but also there is evidence that sitting for a long period of time is associated with bigger waistlines.”
Ms Greathead said office workers should exercise more for fitness, even if this is only ten minutes to get out and take a brisk walk or run an errand.
Heading outside and benefitting from vitamin D can help prepare workers for the afternoon, meaning they will be fresher and more alert when they return to their desks, she suggested.
“We’re encouraging more workers out there to get that heart healthy routine going,” she added.
“A lot more of us are aware of it, the problem is putting it into practice and making those few changes that will have benefit long-term.”
