Boris says get on your bikes to lose lockdown pounds
HE has vowed to lose weight after his coronavirus battle.
And Boris Johnson looked to be on the right path yesterday as he got on his bike.
The PM appeared decidedly lighter as he pedalled along a path at the Canalside Heritage Centre in Beeston, Nottingham.
The images were in stark contrast to photos of him competing in the Surrey 100-mile bike ride in 2013.
Mr Johnson has said he is keen to highlight the fact that losing weight improves someone’s chances of recovering from coronavirus.
He has admitted he was ‘way overweight’ when he was hospitalised with Covid-19. He has since lost more than a stone by changing his diet and going on morning runs.
Mr Johnson spent a week in intensive care in May after coming down with the infection and is believed to have been shocked that his weight may have played a part in the seriousness of his condition.
Speaking on a visit to a London health centre last week, he told reporters: ‘I’m on the way, I’ve lost about a stone and a bit.
‘Primarily by eating less, but also by a lot of exercise.’
Mr Johnson was in Nottingham yesterday to launch his £2billion scheme to promote cycling as a way of tackling the obesity crisis.
Training will be provided to those that want to learn how to get on two wheels and GPs will be able to prescribe cycling as part of plans to get people fitter.
The launch came as a King’s College London study revealed millions of Britons put on an average of 1.6lb in lockdown.
Two-thirds of adults in the UK are obese or overweight. A report by NHS chiefs concluded that obesity increases the likelihood of dying from Covid-19 by around 40 per cent.
‘Way overweight when hospitalised’