{"id":9271,"date":"2026-05-12T08:32:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=9271"},"modified":"2026-05-12T08:32:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:32:34","slug":"experts-call-for-four-day-working-week-as-study-links-obesity-to-long-work-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=9271","title":{"rendered":"Experts call for four day working week as study links obesity to long work hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A four-day working week could be the best thing for your waistline and your stress levels – and significantly reducing the burden of disease on health services, according to experts.<\/p>\n

Countries with the longest working hours have the highest rates of obesity, even though people who clock-off first have unhealthier diets, new research has found.<\/p>\n

Now experts are putting renewed pressure on the Government to introduce a four-day working week in the UK, claiming it could be a chance to slash rising obesity rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stress, take-away culture and hours spent sitting down – which make it impossible to burn energy – have all been blamed for the nation’s bulging waistlines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But critics say it’s not sustainable to mandate a four-day week for five day’s pay, resulting in lower incomes that many simply cannot afford to live on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Others say it merely exemplifies the complaints in today’s society aimed predominantly at the ‘snowflake’ generation: lazy, unmotivated and overly sensitive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So could a four-day week really boost productivity, slash rates of absenteeism and result in half a million fewer obese people in Britain?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Australian researchers believe so, after finding that reducing annual working hours by just 1 per cent lead to a 0.16 per cent fall in obesity rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Experts are calling for a four-day working week after study links long working hours to obesity<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Around two thirds of adults in the UK are considered obese – increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, dementia, certain cancers and even premature death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study – presented at the European Congress on Obesity, Istanbul – compared the working patterns and rates of obesity in 33 OECD countries from 1990 to 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It found that countries such as the US, Mexico and Colombia – which typically have longer working hours – have higher rates of obesity compared to Nordic countries, which have fewer working days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of these, the UK ranked ninth for obesity rates, but 24th in terms of working hours, with the average adult clocking 1,505 hours a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The authors, from the University of Queensland, concluded that lack of time for exercise and work-related stress could explain the trend.<\/p>\n

Cutting working hours by 20 per cent – with a four-day week – then could mean around half a million fewer obese people in Britain, helping more people return to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘There are many ways that working hours could promote obesity besides convenience foods, which are obviously significant \u2014 for example, long hours could promote the stress hormone cortisol, which is associated with weight gain,’ Dr Pradeepa Korale-Gedara explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘When people have a more balanced life, they have less stress, they can focus on more nutritious food and engage in more physical activities.’\u00a0<\/p>\n