Credit crunch turned major health threat

The world financial crisis seems to be a major threat not only for people’s wallets but also for their health. The companies in Britain are reporting of a serious increase in the number of their employees missing from work because of being sick in the recent month.

Medics say that stress caused by worries over family finance and the possibility of losing a job is weakening the workers’ immune systems. This leads to many cases of flu and stomach problems.

Another reason behind the health crisis is the rising price for food. Shoppers who experience a lack of cash tend to switch to cheaper junk food. The gloomy economic climate forces them to exclude the main sources of vitamins – fruits and vegetables – from their menus.

Citizens are focused on their finance and they completely forget about their health. They stop jogging in the morning and are not that eager to visit the gym as it become too expensive for many families.

According to the Britain Under Pressure report released in the middle of September, almost 29 million people in the UK feel more stressed, less fit and healthy, and more prone to illness than they did just three years ago.

And the latest figures from the UK’s leading absence management company FirstCare say that more than 380,000 people are getting sick every day.

The illness epidemics strikes down the workers of UK’s biggest employers such as Coca Cola, British Gas and the NHS.

Doctors are also sounding the alarm because many can turn to smoking and alcohol use to cope with the pressure of the credit crunch.

The recent Britain Under Pressure Report informs that 7 percent of respondents said they have already started drinking more alcohol than before the crisis, and 9 percent anticipate consuming more alcohol during the next six months. A further 6 percent of smokers said they are smoking more because of worries about their finances and the economic climate.

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