Doctors' failure to address awkward health issues and patients' lack of willingness to disclose problems "create a worrying trend that could exacerbate the UK's health issues," Aviva has said.
Four in ten GPs avoid raising sensitive issues such as obesity and almost all would like to spend more time on each appointment, the provider's Health of the Workplace report reveals.
Patients also frequently fail to raise issues with their doctor and many show an alarming lack of knowledge of some basic health indicators, it adds.
Aviva's research shows GPs are unprepared to discuss serious conditions such as obesity (47%), alcohol misuse (19%) and smoking (13%) with patients.
Personal hygiene is the most commonly neglected subject as 59% fail to raise this with their patient.
The provider says these results are particularly concerning given the recent debate over financing of public health and the strain placed on the public purse due to current lifestyles and that this is compounded by patients frequently failing to raise issues with their GP.
"Combined, these factors create a worrying trend that could exacerbate the UK's health issues," it said.
"To make matters worse, many patients also show an alarming lack of knowledge of some basic health indicators. Although over half of those surveyed knew their weight, the vast majority of the remaining sample (41%) only had a vague idea.
"With two thirds (68%) of those questioned unaware of their blood pressure level and 22% having no idea what constitutes a healthy body mass index, weight related health issues could go undetected unless a doctor steps in," it added.
Time is proving a major concern for both doctors and patients as more than half (58%) of individuals claim a lack of time prevents them from raising more general health concerns with their doctor.
And nearly all GPs questioned (97%) said they would like to spend more time with each patient, with seven in ten (69%) stating they'd like 15 minutes, and a quarter (24%) requesting 16 minutes or more.
Over half (57%) say they have less time to see patients than five years ago and 63% claim to feel rushed when dealing with appointments.
The current NHS standard means that appointment times are kept to ten minutes, with GPs spending an average of seven minutes per patient.
Dr. Doug Wright, principal clinical consultant at Aviva UK Health, believes doctors need to confront these personal issues and patients should be encouraged to take greater control of their own health.
"Although it can be difficult to raise personal issues about weight or lifestyle, allowing them to remain unchecked can be costly in the long run," he said.
"Opening channels of communication between doctors and patients and fostering greater healthcare awareness among the population as a whole requires a major shift in attitude. While this can be delivered through primary care facilities such as GP surgeries, there is a real opportunity for other stakeholders to support this wellness agenda.
"Continued collaboration between the Government, the health service and key industry leaders is essential if we are to truly address the ongoing public health issues," he added.
