BORIS’S WAR ON FLAB
He wants to put ‘Britain on its bike’ to tackle obesity threat
A NATIONAL drive against obesity will be launched after the coronavirus menace has passed.
Boris Johnson is planning a ‘much more interventionist’ policy with preventative and personalised solutions to help the overweight lead more active lives.
Cycling will be a priority but Downing Street rejected reports suggesting there would be further taxes on unhealthy food.
Mr Johnson, who is overweight and endured a spell in intensive care with coronavirus, has told senior ministers and advisers that ‘I’ve changed my mind on this’.
Research shows obesity doubles the risk of needing hospital treatment for the virus. Excess weight has already been linked to conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
The PM is said to be convinced that the reason he ended up in intensive care was because of his weight – 17 and a half stone before he was admitted to hospital.
Earlier this week the Government’s road map for easing the lockdown promised more cash for schemes to target ill-health and ‘empower people to live healthier and more active lives’.
It said: ‘This will involve expanding the infrastructure for active travel (cycling and walking) and expanding health screening services, especially through the NHS
Health Check programme.’ Yesterday the PM’s spokesman said: ‘It is critical to understand how different factors such as ethnicity, deprivation, age, gender and obesity could be disproportionately impacting how people are affected by coronavirus. Public Health England launched a review into the factors affecting health outcomes from Covid-19, to include ethnicity, gender and obesity.
‘This will be published by the end of May. As we outlined on our
Recovery Strategy this Government will invest in preventative and personalised solutions to ill-health.’
The Times reported yesterday that Mr Johnson remarked ‘It’s all right for you thinnies’ when discussing coronavirus in Downing Street. He believes the pandemic provides an opportunity for the Government to reinforce the importance of healthy lifestyles.
Mr Johnson is said to be ‘obsessed’ with encouraging more