A BATTLE ON OBESITY
Heart Foundation in plea to Government to help us all curtail junk food in our diets
THE Irish Heart Foundation has urged the Government to tackle widespread obesity that could heighten coronavirus risks.
Evidence emerging around the world suggests that people who are overweight or obese are at increased risk of getting more severely ill with Covid-19,
It comes as Boris Johnson has launched a campaign to urge British people to improve their health including banning TV and online adverts for junk foods, high in fat, sugar and salt before 9.00pm, ending ‘buy one get one free’ deals on such foods, and flagging calories on menus of large restaurants, plus possibly on alcohol.
The measures have been introduced in the UK to help people shed weight. But the Irish Heart Foundation wants the Irish Government to go further.
Head of advocacy Chris Macey said: ‘It’s clear that being overweight or obese puts people at greater risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19. The more successful we are in limiting the impact of the virus, the quicker we will be able to return to some sort of normality, so the case for decisive action on obesity has never been more compelling.’
In addition to the measures proposed in the UK, the IHF wants the Government to institute mandatory reformulation of unhealthy food and beverages and an extension of the sugar tax to items such as confectionery.
Public health nutritionist Gaye Godkin told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘We really need to come out with proper guidelines for people to be educated about what is the right food to eat. It is very difficult to do that in this country, as there is a real lack of awareness.
‘But we just cannot keep our noses in the trough all day. This is the reality. The environment is the problem. Food is around us 24 hours a day. We can get food all the time, and that is a very big issue. I have clients telling me they do most of their eating after 10pm. You have to socially distance yourself from your fridge.’ Ms Godkin, who has clinics in Donabate and Swords, said it was imperative people understand why being obese – or even carrying an extra stone of weight around one’s middle – puts them at greater risk of having a severe reaction to the virus.
She said it was in part because white fat cells wrapped themselves around a person’s internal organs, such as their heart, liver, colon or ovaries. The body’s own immune system mounts an attack on these, producing a low-level background inflammation. The immune system then becomes hyper-activated by Covid-19, leading to a heightened state of inflammation from which the body cannot wind itself down.
She said obese people were also less efficient at processing vitamin D, which plays a key role in the immune system, rendering them less able to fight off the disease.
And she said overweight people often had Type 2 diabetes, which was a further risk factor for Covid19 patients. ‘We really need to look at this,’ she said.
‘We really need proper guidelines’