- Work is becoming more intensive with
many people believing it is having an adverse effect on their health, according
to a survey.
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- The British Heart Foundation (BHF) says
more than a third of working adults and 40% of men aged 25 to 50 believe
work is damaging their health.
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- They think work has made them put on
weight, stopped them doing exercise and made them feel tired and irritable.
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- Many now work more intensively than they
did two years ago and believe this has had a bad effect on their health.
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- Of the 659 adults surveyed, 45% said
they took fewer breaks at work than they did in 1997.
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- More than half said they took less than
30 minutes for lunch while more than a third of women took no lunch break
at all.
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- Only a fifth of those who took a break
used it at least twice a week to do any form of physical activity.
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- Healthier lifestyles
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- The social lives of 85% of those surveyed
suffered because of work and half felt tired and irritable because of their
job, particularly women and white collar workers.
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- Many said alcohol and tobacco were a
health risk at work and wanted them to be banned.
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- The survey coincides with the launch
of a four-week BHF campaign targeting adults and aimed at encouraging them
to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
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- The campaign will include a TV advert
showing a man progressing from his mid-20s to his late 50s.
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- He does not look after himself and his
mantra is "Why bother? You could get hit by a bus tomorrow".
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- Maxine Smith director of communications
at the BHF, said: "We are urging 25 to 50 year olds - about 80% of
whom work - to think about how their lifestyle may be affecting the health
of their heart and to consider ways of balancing healthier daily activities
with a busy week.
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- "The process of furring up of the
arteries starts in young people and is influenced by lifestyle".
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- Swift half
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- The BHF says death and incapacity due
to coronary heart disease costs the UK £8.5bn a year.
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- It is putting forward some tips to help
people adopt a healthier lifestyle.
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- They include:
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- Eating a piece of fruit on the way to
work Providing fruit at meetings rather than biscuits Taking a packed lunch
to work to control salt and fat content Ordering half pints with colleagues
rather than pints or having soft drinks Going for a walk in your lunch
break Planning a healthier route to work which involves more walking Try
to avoid rooms where smokers congregate
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