the following review does not provide a detailed account and discussion of the methods adopted in each study but it is safe to say that all of the main findings of the review are supported by at least one econometrically sound analysis supporting the causal nature of the links assessed eg for wage penalties associated with obesity and smoking wage differentials for people with different levels of alcohol consumption employment gaps for the obese heavy drinkers and smokers etc it focused on how risk factors and chronic diseases affect employment wages labour productivity and early exit from the labour market it also provides an insight into the value of production potentially lost from illness and from adverse labour market outcomes