A Liverpool charity is warning that more Liverpool workers, particularly females could be at an extreme risk of a stroke.
Health@Work is raising awareness of a survey by the Stroke Association, which found that seven million British adults are at an extreme risk of strokes, with women in a higher risk category than men.
A fifth of the women surveyed cited extreme levels of stress which can lead to strokes compared to just a tenth of men. A fifth of those surveyed also admitted they took no exercise whatsoever.
Frances Molloy from Health@Work said: “These figures make worrying reading, poor diet, lack of exercise and workplace stress can be factors in causing a stroke, and the survey suggests that this is all common amongst UK workers.”
To tackle this Health@Work is running the Health, Work and Well Being campaign. The campaign is about making the workplaces healthier and working with staff to improve diet, increase exercise and generally help Liverpool workers lead a better lifestyle.
Frances Molloy, Executive Director at Health@Work said: “We understand that a lot of people in the workplace can feel under stress or don’t feel they have the time to exercise or make healthy meals. However, working with employers we can put simple measures in place and work with staff to help them become healthier.
"This can be anything from organising workplace exercise activities, to giving advice/training on making healthy meals, to putting in place workplace processes which will help reduce stress.”
According to Frances it is in the employers interests to help put these healthier procedures in place, she said: “It is estimated that sickness absence costs UK employers around £12.2 billion* each year, with physical inactivity costing the economy £8.2 billion annually.
"Creating a healthy workplace will reduce workplace absence; lead to better motivated employees and in turn, a more profitable business.”
Health@Work offers support and advice to businesses and individuals in all aspects of workplace health, if you require more details on the services they offer or the new ‘HWWB’ programme, call 0151 236 6608 or e-mail info@healthatworkcentre.org.uk
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