Workplaces should offer spinning classes at lunch time for "tackling obesity"

Employers should set up fitness clbades at lunchtime to help cope with the growing obesity crisis – in line with new guidelines.

Health officials have suggested that chefs organize yoga and yoga sessions in the middle of the workday to help their staff stay healthy.

The guide, published by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice), also advises companies to hold stand-up meetings and encourage employees to use the stairs ensuring that they are clearly marked.

We also suggest offering subsidized subscriptions to a gym and handing out leaflets to encourage people to take the stairs and take regular breaks after sitting down.

In addition to fighting obesity, another goal of guidance is to reduce the number of people who must take sick leave because of stress, depression, or anxiety.

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, more than 131 million days of work were lost due to illness, including 13 million due to mental health problems.

Coaching at lunch time can be extremely beneficial and can do wonders for mental and physical health, which helps avoid computer and phone screens.

But the reality is not always easy: many of us are working longer than ever and it can be hard to find the time to get away from your desk. NICE officials say that it takes a culture change.

"If the 5.7 million small and medium-sized businesses in the UK encourage their staff to be more active, they will be more likely to reap the benefits of having engaged employees, more productive and less likely to take sick leave, "says Professor Gillian Leng, Deputy Director General and Director of Health and Social Services at NICE.

"Simple things like providing secure bike storage, showers and changing rooms can allow people to commute to work by bike or to meetings.

"As a society, we are facing an obesity crisis caused in part by people who are not exercising enough.

"We need people to change their lifestyle and get more exercise. If they can do it during the working day, they will benefit not only, but also their employers and the NHS. It's a victory for all. "

One in four people was clbadified as obese in 2016, compared to one in six in 1993. And nearly two-thirds of people in the overweight or obesity category, compared to a little over the half in 1993, according to NHS Digital.

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