In the USA, we’re constantly told, they are facing a workplace epidemic of obesity costing $168 billion every year – which is 17% of all medical bills in the States.

Dealing with this isn’t easy, especially for employers, and in the UK, large companies are looking to their US counterparts to see how they can best manage the issues surrounding workplace obesity and welfare.

It seems that Americans may be recognising that they need to lose weight and that many are focusing on ways to get slimmer and fitter at work. According to a survey of nearly 6000 workers, 18% claimed they had lost weight at work in 2011 compared to 16% in 2010. But 43% admitted that they had gained weight in their current job.

Reasons for this increase include comfort eating as a result of the increased stress of a recession; longer work hours leading to more time spent seated at work and a tendency to buy the cheaper (and therefore less healthy) options in work canteens and from fast foot restaurants.

28% of American employers say they provide gym classes or gym membership as an employment benefit and around half of those say that they provide places for people to change into sportswear or casual clothing so they can take part in classes or even go for a jog in their lunch break.

But around half of the companies also say that they are concerned about the additional costs of larger workers, ranging from extra time off sick through to having specially made clothing for those who exceed even the XXXL size in which many items of workplace clothing are now made.

As Red Nose day approaches, lots of companies are working out how to support the fundraising event with workplace based activities and fun. But for one or two people, charity fundraising is more of a challenge than a bit of fun.

Take Alastair Humphreys, who at 24, started cycling for charity – he didn’t stop for four years! He travelled England to South Africa, then crossed the Atlantic by yacht and continued cycling from Argentina all the way to Alaska. He then crossed the Pacific by freighter (with his bike in the hold) and cycled back from Siberia to England. In total it was a 46,000 trip.

He wore no underwear (to save weight!) and made do with one long-sleeved cycling top and just two 2 T-shirts, plus loads of clothes in Siberia that he gave away when he left.

We’ve all got used to seeing bags of clothing left out for charity vans to collect and take to shops to be re-sold for good causes, but two Scottish charities have found other ways to raise funds through clothing.

Film star Julie Christie donated a Dolce & Gabbana suit, worth over a £1,000, to a charity auction that will take place this weekend in Edinburgh. She wore the suit to the premiere of Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, in which she plays Gertrude. Profits from the Charity Chic Auction will go to Oxfam. Christie told reporters that recycling clothes was is a ‘small but crucial step’ to improving the future of the planet. Employees of John Lewis,  Oxfam, Barnardo’s and Shelter charity shops are taking part in the event, as are a Edinburgh based designers and creators.

In Togo, Rangers Football club has been building and equipping health centres. When the clubs Chief Executive visited the west African country recently, he pointed out that ‘…football clubs, footballers and fans are [often] portrayed in a negative light … But they do a great deal of good – in their communities and beyond.’

In addition to providing medical care, clean water, sanitation and food to 125,000 children and their families the club’s funds provide children’s clothing.  The recent visit allowed Rangers staff to hand out home and away strips to Togolese children. The funds are raised through sponsored walks, runs and climbs, change being collected on match days and odd events such as sponsored waxings and treks across the Grand Canyon.

It seems that in addition to the £2,190 per year that the average family spends on its summer and Christmas holidays, families are spending around £700 a year on toys, books and computer games for their kiddies.

This expenditure, based on the desire to keep children happy and busy, is a massive drain on family resources and in Wales, only just over half the population are saving for the future of their children, while in Northern Ireland, 74% of families are setting aside some money. According to a recent survey carried out by the Cooperative Bank, some of the biggest areas of parental spending are trips to the cinema, local attractions and fast food outlets to keep children happy after school or at weekends.

Such intense expenditure could mean that parents are struggling to keep up with other demands on their income, such as loans and mortgage repayments.

Saving money and keeping kids happy

There are a number of ways to keep children involved without spending so much money.

• Kitchen fun: there are many simple recipes to enjoy with your children and there are some real bonuses to making cooking fun. Knowing how to cook can help young people save money in later life, at college for example, and ensure they eat properly when away from home. Buy a couple of cheap aprons to save clothes from spills and splashes and get cooking. Once the kids are confident, let them make tea once a week – you may only get peanut butter sandwiches but they will get a boost to their self esteem and self reliance.
• Tie-dyeing can be a bit hippy, but if you combine dyeing old clothes with hosting a dress up party afterwards, you can have a fantastic double fun session for very little money. Pick a theme such as hippy (obviously) or Halloween and gather, fold and tie T-shirts before leaving them to soak in an appropriate colour fabric dye. Next day, when you’ve washed and dried the clothing, host a dance party in costume!
• Sporty kids are healthier and happier and playing sport needn’t be expensive. Instead of investing in soccer coaching or horseriding lessons, try setting up a simple rounders game with local kids, or teaching some old playground games. Use coloured vests to mark out teams and offer lots of soft drinks if the weather is hot.

Yorkshire Cancer Research has come up with an innovative way of raising funds, which is being supported by many businesses right across Leeds. It’s called the High Heel-a-thon and it’s an even where both women and men will undertake a one-and-a-half mile ‘race’ in high heels, on Sunday, September 26.

The glamorous event, in which local firms will enter teams dressed in specially designed T-shirts and high heels, wends its way through the city’s main shopping streets passing, bars, restaurants and cultural attractions that may appeal to entrants and crowds alike. An entrance fee of just £10 includes the T-shirt, so it’s a real bargain for those taking part and a fantastic opportunity for a team-building day where the sponsorship raised by each business benefits a truly worthy cause: the charity will spend every penny raised in Yorkshire, funding nearly 200 scientists working in the region to research cancer.

It’s a great way to boost local enterprise as well as raising funds and could easily be replicated in other business centres across the UK.

A firm based in Halifax, Yorkshire, has undergone a rebranding and as a result, it’s helped fund the Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA).

Casual clothing saves lives

The construction company had dozens of bags uniform clothing with the old logo, ranging from health and safety wear, through to fleeces and hats and casual clothing – and it recycled them all through YAA which works with a partner to actually sell all donated clothing overseas. This process raises up to £250,000 for the charity to fund the flying ambulance service which helps save the lives of people like distant hill farmers and those stranded by weather or accidents in Yorkshire’s picturesque but remote areas.

Back to school for teachers

On the other hand, uniform could be a painful issue for schools. The new Education Secretary Michael Gove wants a dress code for teachers because he thinks both parents and pupils respond better to a smartly-dressed teacher.

But while headteachers can establish a dress code they are not able to impose clothing rules that could be considered as sexual, racial or religious discrimination. And that’s not the only problem – in 2008, a maths teacher was fined after insisting on his right to wear trainers and tracksuit bottoms rather than a suit. His argument was that he had taught at the school in question for a decade and a half without discipline problems and should be allowed to continue as he was. While the matter was resolved, it doesn’t bode well for the future – we expect children to try and contravene rules about uniforms, but not teachers!

Andy Murray has switched his clothing supplier to Adidas this year, which may be related to his having worn retro Fred Perry clothing: a subtle polo-shirt and relaxed shorts combo, last year, in tribute to the last male Brit to win the tournament – his failure to win it himself was partly attributed to ‘pressure’ so maybe his new Adidas kit will help him relax.

Pressure of a different kind has been seen at the World Cup – England’s players may not have survived the pressure – and whether the manager will is still open to question, but pressure clothing has been the big feature of the footballers kit this time around.  Strictly speaking it’s called compression clothing  and it helps athletes resist fatigue because it encourage oxygen circulation around the body, meaning that the blood carries away lactic acid from tired muscles. Lactic acid is a major cause of cramp and so anything that helps tired players to cope with the schedule (finalists will have played 7 games in 30 days) is going to be considered both a practical and a psychological aid.

Meawhile, Serena Williams has been piling the pressure on to her opponents at Wimbledon – playing in long acrylic fingernails and huge dangling earrings is seen by sports psychologists as the reigning champion saying ‘Do what you like, I can beat you wearing party clothing.’  She’s worn a stunning range of casual clothing, from red and white outfits through to sparkling silver nails, and it all helps keep her opponents on the back foot.