Help for people at risk of diabetes
BORIS JOHNSON will announce the end of confectionery displays at store checkouts and ban junk food adverts on TV before 9pm as he looks to encourage Britons to shed the pounds.
The Prime Minister has revealed already how his own brush with Covid-19, which saw him require intensive care in April, convinced him of the need to tackle Britain’s bulging waistlines.
Today, he will set out the details of the “Better Health” campaign as he looks to tackle the country’s obesity problem.
The headline changes in the obesity strategy include banning “buy one, get one free” promotions on fattening products and outlawing supermarkets from tempting shoppers with unhealthy snacks at checkouts and store entrances.
Restaurants will have to display the calories contained in items on menus and there will be a consultation into doing the same for any alcohol sold.
As part of the programme, the NHS weight loss services is to be expanded, while GPs will be encouraged to prescribe bike rides, with patients in pilot areas to be given access to bikes.
The plan comes as evidence has begun to mount linking excess weight with a higher risk of
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister. severe illness from coronavirus. A Public Health England (PHE) study published on Saturday discovered that being classed as medically obese increased the risk of death from coronavirus by 40 per cent.
The Prime Minister said: “Losing weight is hard but with some small changes we can all feel fitter and healthier. If we all do our bit, we can reduce our health risks and protect ourselves against coronavirus – as well as taking pressure off the NHS.”
The highly interventionist approach marks a U-turn for Mr Johnson, who until recently has been a vocal opponent of “sin taxes” and perceived “nannying” by the state. But Mr Johnson has agreed to a plan that he thinks can both save the NHS time and money and also could help reduce the number of Covid-19 deaths in a possible second wave of infections.
A total of 63 per cent of UK adults are above a healthy weight, with 36 per cent overweight and 28 per cent obese, according to Government data.
One in three children aged 10 to 11 are overweight or obese, and children living with obesity are five times more likely to become obese adults.
The Government will introduce new laws to ban the advertising of food high in fat, sugar or salt on television and online before 9pm.
Ministers will hold a consultation on whether the internet ban should apply all day.
Analysis published by Cancer Research UK from September 2019 showed that almost half of all food adverts shown over the month on ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky One were for products high in fat, sugar and salt, rising to almost 60 per cent during the 6pm to 9pm slot when children’s viewing peaks.
Further legislation will restrict the promotion of junk food, including “buy one, get one free” offers. There will also be a ban on chocolate bars and sweets being placed in prominent locations in stores, such as at checkouts and entrances.
In the latest figures published yesterday, one new coronavirus death was recorded at a hospital serving Yorkshire. The hospital death toll in Yorkshire from coronavirus now stands at 2,890 and 29,281 in England.
HEALTH: People at risk of developing type 2 diabetes will be able to self-refer to specialist services from today in a bid to curb one of the biggest risk factors in Covid-19 deaths.
A third of people who died in hospital with Covid-19 had diabetes, according to Public Health England data, and over 12.3 million people in the UK are at risk of developing the disease. NHS England is now rolling out rapid access to the Healthier You service, first launched in 2016.
With some small changes we can all feel fitter and healthier.