Working from home may lead to lazy lifestyle that is as risky as smoking

Working from home may contribute to a lazy lifestyle that is as much of a health risk as smoking, reveals new research published today.

One in five people working from home exercise less often due to not commuting to the office, according to Bupa.

An uptick in remote working since the pandemic is entrenching more static lifestyles among workers, raising concerns over the health of the country.

An “increase in sedentary lifestyles due to the pandemic presents a major long-term health risk that is as significant as smoking,” Bupa said.

The research comes as prime minister Boris Johnson said he was distracted by cheese and coffee when working from home.

You spend “an awful lot of time making another cup of coffee and then, you know, getting up, walking very slowly to the fridge, hacking off a small piece of cheese, then walking very slowly back to your laptop and then forgetting what it was you’re doing,” he said.

Some four in 10 Brits are overweight, while around 20 per cent are obese, Bupa said.

“It looks like as a nation we’re still struggling to stay active and eat well… it may take years for our health to return to pre-pandemic levels,” Dr Robin Clark, medical director at Bupa Global and UK, said.