Johnson wants nation ‘on its bike’ in fight against obesity
Boris Johnson is preparing a ‘‘much more interventionist’’ drive to tackle obesity as part of the fight against coronavirus after his spell in hospital with the disease.
The prime minister told senior ministers and advisers he was drawing up a new strategy.
Research has found that being obese doubles the risk of needing hospital treatment for coronavirus. About one in three British adults is clinically obese, classified as those with a body mass index (BMI) above 30. It is one of the highest rates in the western world.
Johnson is understood to be convinced that the reason he ended up in intensive care was because of his weight, which was 17 1⁄2 stone before he was admitted to hospital. BMI is determined by a person’s weight relative to their height. At 5ft 9in, Johnson’s score will have been about 36.
Obesity is a risk factor for other health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, which are also known to increase vulnerability to Covid-19.
Figures released by the health service yesterday revealed that a quarter of coronavirus patients who have died in hospitals in England had diabetes.
Johnson believes that the pandemic provides an opportunity for the government to reinforce the message that people need to lead healthy lives. He is said to be ‘‘obsessed’’ with encouraging more people to cycle to work and believes it is a good moment to ‘‘get Britain on its bike’’.
Earlier this week it was reported that when Johnson was asked how to avoid coronavirus, he replied: ‘‘Don’t be a fatty in your fifties.’’
One of his longstanding advisers said that the prime minister’s own battle with his waistline gives him ‘‘permission to speak’’ to voters about the need to lose weight. During his stint as foreign secretary between 2016 and 2018 he was eating a lot while flying between countries.
The prime minister has also written about his ‘‘delicious late-night binges of chorizo and cheese’’.
He is said to have lost a stone since coming out of hospital a month ago.
A government review is analysing how factors including obesity, ethnicity and gender can affect the impact of the virus on people’s health.
Ministers believe that tackling obesity will become increasingly important because Britain is likely to have to live with the virus until a vaccine is developed.
Of the 22,332 patients who died since March 31, when pre-existing conditions began to be reported, 26 per cent had type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and 18 per cent had dementia. Some 15 per cent were reported to have chronic pulmonary disease, and 1549 had asthma.
The number of people who have died with coronavirus in the UK rose by 428 to 33,616, while 233,151 people have tested positive for the disease. – The Times