People are getting fatter; there is no doubt about it. Obesity costs the UK’s National Health Service over £500 million per year. The reason is simple- our modern lives just don’t include enough physical activity, and our culture is more interested in convenience rather than wholesome. Obesity is said to contribute to a range of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. No wonder people are finding it hard to take out life insurance policies!

Life insurance is important for yourself and your family. It is important to have the peace of mind, that if you die, there will be money left to cover not only funeral expenses, but also to help your family out financially- if you’re the main bread winner, your family will struggle in the event of your death.

For those who are obese, life insurance may not be an option. Depending on how heavy you are, you may be refused a policy as you are considered to be too high risk. If you are overweight and lucky enough to be offered a policy, you are likely to pay 33% more than if you were of normal weight.

The government are due to spend £75 million on tackling this epidemic. Their actions will include making food labels clearer and making more physical activity available in schools. However, even with this amount of money ploughed into the economy for the purpose of obesity, the government recognise that changes will not be immediate. It has been said that it will take decades for averages of weight to lower. This means that the battle of the overweight and insurance companies will continue.

Being overweight means that you will be forced to hand over more of your wages than you should, and have no choice because life insurance is such a necessity. There are companies which now specialise in covering people who are obese, but their prices are still higher than those with a healthy weight. With the current economic crisis, these extra costs aren’t ideal. With so much uncertainty, people must try to put money aside, and losing weight is an alternative- good for your health and your wallet.

Everyone knows what to do to lose weight, but its actually getting motivated to do it. It is easy to say eat less and exercise more, but it comes along with adapting your lifestyle which isn’t always that easy. Here are some top tips for losing a few pounds:

• Keep a food diary. When everything you’ve eaten is written down it can be a real wake-up call, but be honest with yourself.
• Don’t cut out all the foods you enjoy, it will only tempt you to eat them even more! Treat yourself to that takeaway once a week or have smaller daily treats to work towards
• Monitor your alcohol intake. Alcoholic drinks can be very calorific and easy to consume! Try to drink alcohol only on special occasions, and stay away from beer or cider- one pint can contain 300 calories!
• Eat before you go food shopping. If you’re hungry while browsing through isles of tempting food, it will be even harder to resist putting it in your basket.
• Replace carbohydrates with vegetables and avoid the high calorie content of pasta and potatoes.