Teaching is the second healthiest profession in the country, according to a new survey released in December. The survey of 3,000 workers, by health insurance provider Medicash, revealed that teachers are less likely to smoke and that they tend to drink less alcohol and eat less junk food than workers in almost all other professions.
Teachers were narrowly pipped to the poll’s top spot by workers in marketing and communications, while the hospitality industry was revealed as the nation’s unhealthiest profession.
Teachers’ relatively moderate consumption habits are all the more surprising because, as the same survey showed, teaching is within the top fifteen per cent of stressful occupations in the UK. Peter Lauris, of Medicash commented: ‘’The more demanding your job is, the more a sensible approach to diet and exercise can help to prevent illness and stress-related absences. The results of the survey suggest that teachers have a firm grasp of how to develop the right balance in their work and home life, and they are, of course, ideally placed to pass this on to a younger generation.”
