Are you fit for business?
We thought we’d begin the year — like so many people do — by focusing on fitness.
When Channel 5 asked for our help to survey pub landlords and landladies on the state of their health — for its new TV series Go Hard or Go Home — we had our suspicions about the likely responses and the condition of our readership.
And let’s just say we weren’t wrong! Read our story on the survey results.
Temptation
It’s not for me to cast judgement on the size and shape of the licensee community (I’d personally fall quite comfortably into the upper quartile of these results), but maybe these findings can provide some of us with the impetus we need to make a few changes.
Let’s face it — the life of the licensee is not exactly conducive to optimal health. While, according to our survey, most of you will spend more than 60 hours a week on your feet, moving between bar, kitchen, cellar and garden — and doing enough lifting to shame a gym junkie — there is temptation all around in the form of the delicious food and drink that you serve.
And those long hours you work rather minimise the time you have for active leisure pursuits, so bravo if you do manage to walk, run, row, cycle or engage in other sporting activities in what little spare time you have (NB: darts doesn’t count).
Legislation
You’ll read plenty in the press these days about the perils of obesity. As I write, the BBC News website is reporting new research showing that more than half the UK population will be obese by 2050 and demanding Government “intervention” and “concerted action”.
It will be interesting to see where the balance is struck on this issue between personal responsibility and regulation. But it’s a pretty safe bet to suggest that caterers and their suppliers will come under increasing pressure to remove sugar, fat and salt from their menus.
It has already started with the big companies being asked to make voluntary pledges via the Responsibility Deal and will almost inevitably end up with legislation affecting everyone involved in foodservice.
Motivation
But no law is realistically going to compel individuals to do the things they need to prevent their own weight gain and thus minimise their risks of life-threatening diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and breast and colon cancer, as well as other pervasive conditions like depression.
If you are an XL publican, are you motivated to make changes in your lifestyle to improve your health and fitness? Have you made resolutions to lose weight? To eat less and move more?
Share your experiences with us, and maybe they will inspire others to transform themselves from chubby publicans into slender bartenders. Get in touch with your experiences.
