After his battle with COVID-19, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Britons to slim down and stay fit to prevent coronavirus.
The UK government has also launched a series of fat fighting measures marking a reversal in measures as Boris Johnson was the one who railed against sin taxes on fast food.
Want to beat COVID-19, then lose weight, that’s the message Boris Johnson had shared on his twitter handle.
He has urged people to shed weight to reduce the risk of catching the coronavirus which he had fought with.
Johnson had released a video on Monday saying that he had lost 14 pounds since he was admitted in ICU at London hospital in April.
He said that he always wanted to lose weight and he struggled with his weight for years. But, since he recovered from coronavirus he had been steadily rebuilding his fitness.
But, when he went into Intensive Care Unit and was very ill, he was overweight. Since he was in the hospital from April, he had lost 14 pounds.
On Monday, British government has announced a series of fat fighting measures which include ban on TV commercials showing eatables with fat content, sugar and salt before 9 pm.
The fat fighting policies marked a reversal as Johnson was against the sin taxes on fast foods till a year ago and now he announces fat fighting measures.
In 2006, Boris had supported a group of mothers who made headlines for pushing fast food through the railings of a school where unhealthy snacks were banned. He said during an interview that people should eat what they want and they should not be restricted from any kind of food they like to eat.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), UK has been trying to fight obesity since years and 27.8 percent of people in UK are obese. The country ranked third in the world in terms of obesity after Turkey and Malta.
Various scientific studies and researchers have linked obesity as a risk factor for COVID-19. Previously, people with diabetes are linked to be in the high risk group for coronavirus.
In the recent study, researchers say that obese people already have compromises in breathing and as COVID-19 mainly affects lungs and its functioning, obese people have the worst affect and may face breathlessness when COVID-19 attacks.
UK PM Johnson said that he had lost weight by running with his dog Dilyn. Apart from reducing the risk of coronavirus, he is also urging people to become fit as they can stay more active. Obesity is costing National Health Services billions of pounds.
As per studies, if every Briton lost just 5 pounds, it would save the NHS 100 million pounds in the next five years.
By Gayatri Yellayi
