The business effects of rising obesity

BBC Magazine is often a great source of wider reading for business teachers and students and this latest resource is no exception. It considers some of the implications for businesses and organisations of increases in the average size of adults and children, together with growing numbers of significantly obese customers.

Lots of good examples in both the private and pubic sector. Ambulance staff in the UK now have to handle (literally) patients with an average weight of between16-18 stone (compared with 11-13 stones a generation ago). Airlines are trying to find ways to redesign aircraft interiors to enable them to carry the same number of customers as average weight grows. Ryanair’s (PR-inspired?) proposal for a fat tax may not seem so far-fetched after all?

Can your students suggest other industries or markets affected by rising obesity and weight? It is a classic example of how long-term changes in the external social environment can affect a business. But for every business for which the obesity epidemic is a threat, other businesses see opportunity. Which ones?

Here’s a clip from Come Fly With Me which you might use to grab student’s attention on this topic