Good living, long working hours and expanding waistlines are harming governance as public servants' chronic diseases threaten their lives and medical aid scheme sustainability, and add to the woes of the weak South African economy. Academic studies, and medical aid scheme data, show that many police officers, nurses and teachers are overweight or obese, increasing their risk of lifestyle diseases by up to eight times.A study published in the SA Medical Journal recently examined the weight, blood pressure, diabetes status and cholesterol levels of hundreds of teachers at 111 schools in Cape Town.Of those who agreed to be weighed and have blood taken, 87% were overweight or obese."It is estimated that lifestyle diseases linked to obesity, such as diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and many cancers, lead to early death or retirement, high absenteeism, and low productivity, costing the country 6.87% of GDP," said Aparna Kollipara, director of health in the Treasury. This was expected to rise to 7% in 2017, she said."But HIV and TB get the lion's share of the health budget . the specific conditional grant for HIV and TB in the 2016-2017 budget was R20-billion. The conditional grant earmarked for lifestyle diseases was R20-million," Kollipara said.Members of the Centre for Evidence-Based Healthcare at Stellenbosch University - with staff from the Harvard School of Public Health, in the US - who conducted the study of teachers concluded that heart disease would soon "impose a substantial burden on Cape Town education".The dean of Stellenbosch University's faculty of health sciences, Jimmy Volmink, said: "Obesity and, by extension, the risk of lifestyle diseases, seems to be a particular problem among teachers, nurses and the police ."The implications for the education system is that teacher absenteeism and attrition due to ill health are likely to ensue. Bad health role modelling for young people is [another] problem."Jessica Shelver, spokesman for the Western Cape department of education, said "three percent of teachers" had at least one day of sick leave each term.She confirmed that it had been found that many of the province's teachers were overweight, or had diabetes or high blood pressure.Basil Manuel, spokesman for the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of SA , said: "Stress is killing our teachers. The union is concerned about teachers' health. It is a ticking time bomb."He said huge workloads caused by excessive administrative demands and marking led to stress, which increased the likelihood of teachers eating badly and having less time for exercise."Teachers are not alone.Police officers struggle with lifestyle diseases and mental health difficulties," Lieutenant-General Johannes Khomotso Phahlane told the parliamentary portfolio committee on policing in February.Data from Polmed, the police medical aid scheme, showed that almost 20000 of about 151000 police officers were treated for psychological problems, mostly depression, in 2014.Limpopo public health professor Linda Skaal has been studying the health and weight of nurses, health workers and policy makers in the national Department of Health since 2010 "because they are role models for their communities".Skaal's first study was at Ga-Rankuwa Hospital, in Gauteng.She examined the health status of 200 professionals at the hospital, predominantly nurses and administrative staff.Most of the nurses were overweight or obese, and half had never tried to lose weight."If I were to do the same studies nationwide, I would probably find the same thing," she said.In a follow-up study in 2013 in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, many nurses were found to be obese but rated themselves as being of normal weight."This means they didn't perceive themselves to be at risk of lifestyle diseases linked to obesity."Government Employees' Medical Scheme principal officer Guni Goolab said the medical scheme's finances were being strained as more members claimed for chronic conditions."Nearly one in four beneficiaries have a chronic condition. Five years ago it was one in six."The scheme paid out more last year than it received in premiums.Goolab said: "[Lifestyle diseases] are posing an important risk, not only to the healthcare funding sector but to the entire country."..