Researchers found a number of reasons why business has a role in reducing health inequity:

Life expectancy stalled in 2019 and then fell for men and women by approximately one year because of the pandemic.
Excessive working hours are linked to premature deaths from stroke and heart disease.
The food industry spends 27 times more on advertising than the UK government budgets for promoting healthy eating, although obesity is a major social determinant of a shorter life expectancy and contributed to many deaths during COVID.
The minimum wage often is insufficient to live a healthy life. Most people in the UK in poverty are employed.
Pay for sickness absence is essential to physical and mental health, yet UK sick pay is one of the lowest in the EU, and many low earners are not even eligible.
Pockets of good work, siloed in ethics, corporate social responsibility or environment, social and governance teams, do not translate into healthy business practices.
Unhealthy environments cause a quarter of all deaths globally.

"Reducing health inequities is a key part of leveling up — literally a matter of life and death," said Nigel Wilson, CEO of Legal & Counsel, which was a partner in the study. "Business can be a force for good in society if we work to identify areas where we can sustainably and positively impact people's lives."

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