The average Australian worker is stressed, overweight, unfit and has a cholesterol or blood pressure problem, new findings show.
They highlight the urgent need for preventative actions in the workplace, says Dr John Lang, CEO of the Workplace Health Association of Australia (WHAA).
"This is an alarming insight into the poor levels of health experienced by most Australian workers," he said as the WHAA/University of Wollongong report was released on Friday.
The Health Profile of Australian Employees report analysed the health characteristics of almost 30,000 workers gleaned from workplace health assessments over the past decade.
Physical inactivity and stress were found to be the leading preventable health risks for workers.
The report found that 65 per cent reported moderate to high stress levels, while 41 per cent of them had psychological distress levels considered to be at-risk.
Half were found to be physically inactive, with 40 per cent being overweight and another 20 per cent obese.
Nearly a quarter had high cholesterol and 12 per cent had high blood pressure, while 11 per cent drank excessively and the same percentage smoked daily.
"Your average working Australian is overweight, unfit, has a cholesterol or blood pressure problem and is stressed - that is a bad average," said Dr Lang.
"The impact of employee health on the performance and productivity of the Australian labour force dwarfs many of the productivity issues currently being tackled by state and federal Governments.
"With national health care expenditure rising at more than double the inflation rate, prevention has to be a top priority."
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