Nearly half of local employees at high risk of poor health: data

Nearly half of local employees are at high risk of poor health due to unhealthy lifestyles and poor awareness, a local health authority said during a forum discussing employers' health management.

The authority suggested that employers should enhance their health management, focusing on occupational disease prevention and control.

According to a survey released at the forum, young males between 18 and 34 years old, those with a comparatively low educational background and income, and people working in industries such as transportation, equipment operation and service staff have higher health risks than average.

The survey, which was conducted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Public Health, covered 2,548 employees at 137 enterprises on diet, exercise, sleep, mental status and health awareness. The respondents were classified into groups with low, middle and high health risks.

The resulting data shows the overall health of local employees is not good. Many had poor health habits and low awareness of their health, experts said.

There are more than 2 million enterprises registered in Shanghai with nearly 10 million employees, whose health requires joint efforts of the government, employers and individuals. The city has issued a series of regulations and rules to boost the establishment of healthy enterprises and offer protection to employees.

"We also suggest that employers establish a health database, carry out regular health evaluations to identify those with high health risks for voluntary intervention and introduce digital health management measures," said Wang Hui, director of the public health school.