What makes teaching the healthiest job in Britain?

TEACHERS get top marks for eating and sleeping well, while call centre workers have the unhealthiest jobs in Britain, according to new research

cameron diazLike Cameron Diaz in 2011's Bad Teacher, educational professionals get top marks for health [SONY PICTURES UK]

Michael Gove's sweeping changes may be sending education professionals' blood pressure sky high but when it comes to health, teachers are top of the league tables.

According to a new survey, the nation's educators were awarded top marks for their daily routines, with 70 per cent eating three meals a day and a quarter getting eight hours of sleep a night.

Surprisingly, despite their busy schedules and high stress levels, nurses came in second place while fashion designers were the third healthiest profession and farmers came in fourth place.

However, health and fitness professionals only just scraped into fifth place.

The Wellbeing At Work League research commissioned by Brita, found that two thirds of workers admitted to feeling dehydrated at work and 46 per cent rely on sugar snacks to give them a boost. 

Call centre workers get plenty of abuse from unhappy customers - no wonder they're the most unhealthy employees in the UK, closely followed by greasy-spoon loving builders in second place. 

Engineers were fourth unhealthiest while IT workers came close behind in fifth place. 

call centreCall centre operators have the most unhealthy jobs in Britain [GETTY]

A third of all call centre operators avoid exercise completely during the working week despite the fact that they spend eight hours a day sitting at their desks. 

Dietitian and nutritionist Jo Travers commented on the results: "People spend a large amount of time at work so integrating healthy habits into their day is crucial.  

"Our research found that 4pm is the time that most people tend to feel a slump in energy. It can be tempting to reach for something sugary, but this can be counter-productive as it can cause a spike in blood sugar, followed by a crash."

Further findings highlighted that 45 per cent of professionals are too busy to drink enough water and that nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of workers only drink water when they feel really thirsty.  

Jo Travers said: "Getting thirsty is actually one of the very last physical effects dehydration has on the body so the damage may have already begun. Learning to identify the other signs of dehydration, like dry eyes or lack of concentration, will help avoid it."    

Further results showed which professions experience the most stress and which have the least sleep. Call centre workers top the stressed-out scale while farmers are the least stressed. 


1. Teachers

2. Nurses

3. Interior and fashion designers

4. Farmers

5. Health and Fitness


1. Call centre operators

2. Builders

3. PRs

4. Engineers

5. IT workers