Jennie has said to lose weight before the 2nd wave in the winter.

[Hippofrog]

Jennie Harries has advised that overweight people should lose weight to reduce their risk during a 2nd wave in the winter. I’ve lost half a stone recently. Is anyone trying to lose at least a stone before the winter?

@ptumbi they had to advise it for some though. It's all well saying improve your immune system if you have one to start with! Hence shielding

Its not a secret though that being overweight is detrimental to your health

This.
Being overweight is always detrimental to your health and I think Covid has made more people start to take responsibility for their weight, myself included.

I need to lose about 7lbs, maybe a bit more. I lost some weight before lockdown but then it crept back up again. Willpower, willpower, willpower.

@Windyjuly

Arghhhhhhh so she was thinking of the actual horses racing and she didn't consider the many pinch points of loos, bars, betting stands, turn stiles, people shouting for the horses to win 😂😂😂😂...

A mere week or so later solitary people sun bathing in parks were told off!!

It's utter nonsense.

Actually, Cheltenham wasn't that significant. It was the flights from Europe (mainly France, Italy and Spain) in Feburary and March that were the main routes of transmission. They didn't really determine that till last month though.

Many thanks to those who said my slow and steady idea was a reasonable one. Once you have invested over 50 years in " dieting" its time to look for a permanent solution.

Surprised that there are people who paid no attention back in March, who are sitting up and listening now. In that time, I've lost 25lb and lowered my BMI from 29.6 to 24.8 (and will keep going til it's 23).

There was a study published back then which compared the outcomes of 3 BMI groups: less than 24, 24 to 28 and above 28. Compared to the first group, the risk of severe illness roughly doubled for the second group and roughly trebled for the 3rd group. That was enough to jolt me into action.

Windyjuly

"We have the worst death rate in Europe."

I don't know why many people are saying that. The statistics say otherwise.
Deaths per 1,000,000 population.

Belgium - 844
UK - 656
Spain - 607
Italy - 577
Sweden - 543
France - 459

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

@PowerslidePanda

Surprised that there are people who paid no attention back in March, who are sitting up and listening now. In that time, I've lost 25lb and lowered my BMI from 29.6 to 24.8 (and will keep going til it's 23).

There was a study published back then which compared the outcomes of 3 BMI groups: less than 24, 24 to 28 and above 28. Compared to the first group, the risk of severe illness roughly doubled for the second group and roughly trebled for the 3rd group. That was enough to jolt me into action.

@PowerslidePanda that's great for you, it's also great for those who have started to lose weight and try to take some ownership for their own health now even if they started later. It will all help.

I'd be really interested to read the study you mention, do you have a link or the name of the study so that I can google it?

@igivein

I'm plugging away at it.

I'm morbidly obese and 56 years old, and when they first started reporting obesity and age as risk factors it scared me into action.

I've been fasting, low carbing, walking five miles a day and started Pilates - being post menopause I have to throw everything I've got at it, because every ounce is a fight.

I've lost 3.5 stone so far and my BMIs now 36.5 (down from 43) so hopefully I'll soon be celebrating being obese rather than morbidly obese.

Jenny's words yesterday were a timely encouragement to keep going, because I'm a long way from being out of the woods yet.

Well done. That’s amazing.

If you like the deputy medical officer or not losing weight if your over weight is good for everyone’s health. Now I need to get more focused.

"the vast majority of people who get covid do not suffer from symptoms"

That's not true is it? Most cases aren't asymptomatic, some are, but not most as far as we know.
Most cases are mild, but mild for doctors covers anyone who's not hospitalised - it might not feel mild to the patient.

I've put on a few pounds during lockdown because I haven't been to the gym for 4 months and counting. Walking and cycling hasn't been enough and I've missed the routine that i had. It really annoys me when Boris/Jenny et al waffle on about tackling obesity whilst opening up fast food businesses and pubs and encouraging people to eat out at half price whilst virtually the entire health/leisure industry is shut down.

Spitting was a crime when I was a child. As faras I can remember, it was to eradicate TB. Sign on the buses - "No spitting. Penalty £5". A lot of money in the early sixties. Wish they'd bring back something like this now.

"sign on the buses - "No spitting. Penalty £5"

I remember those signs, but that wouldn't make it a crime. Civil matter maybe or just going against the bus rules.
People who spit wouldn't care about fines anyway, it's the same people as those who litter and the threat of fines doesn't stop them.

Yes spitting was a huge issue before antibiotics. People used to have a device called a spittoon. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spittoon

We have a bit of problem with spitting of paan on to pavements not far from me news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8580076.stm never mind all the English yobs spitting out chewing gum.

I'd respect her more if they OPENED THE GYMS AND THE SWIMMING POOLS
rather than pubs and restaurants

Hey SUNAK
how about £10 per head off gym memberships a month
rather than fast food chains

@Gwenhwyfar

"the vast majority of people who get covid do not suffer from symptoms"

That's not true is it? Most cases aren't asymptomatic, some are, but not most as far as we know.
Most cases are mild, but mild for doctors covers anyone who's not hospitalised - it might not feel mild to the patient.

But because we don't routinely test, we don't know. Loads of people may have had it asymptomatically and not even realise they've had it.

Until there are antibody tests we don't know who's had it without symptoms, who's had it 'but it might not have been Covid', and who hasn't had it but have treated another virus as though it were Covid and are now assuming they've had it.

Jennie Harries has advised that overweight people should lose weight to reduce their risk during a 2nd wave in the winter.
But the Tories decide to open the pubs, and offer money off for buying junk food, it's almost as if they want to kill people.

You can buy non junk food at restaraunts, or a pub lunch is fine as part of a balanced diet. Unless someone is planning on eating out for every single meal in August, not really sure how people can blame that for their weight. Self responsibility is probably a more realistic approach mind. You can even go to a pub and not drink copious amounts of alcohol, crazy right!

Eating out doesn’t HAVE to mean eating unhealthily. It’s always going to be about menu choice, whatever size you are. I’d pleased they’re helping the hospitality industry.

I’ve lost 23lbs in lockdown so far, and want to lose another 14 or so. It needed to happen and I don’t know why COVID got me shifting it when the other health risks of obesity hadn’t, but I don’t care. Benefit is benefit!

I know people who chose not to go to Cheltenham. They knew there was a risk.

I know people who are reluctant to eat inside restaurants (me) because they feel it is an unnecessary risk.

I know people who are trying to lose weight (me) to reduce my overall risk.

Everyone makes their own decisions. Some then blame others for their inability to take personal responsibility.

@ILoveStickers that's very interesting! if you can remember a source for those stats I would love to know more. I have managed to drag my bmi from over 43 down to 35ish so far. my target has been to get down to 25 but if there is hard evidence that a target of 27-28 would actually be healthier wrt covid specifically, that would be worth knowing. obviously the general concept of the healthy range being 20-25 has to take in probabilities of a wide range of potential ailments and presumably each possible condition has different ranges of lardiness are most or least at risk so it will always be a balance.

@Megatron - Here you go:

care.diabetesjournals.org/content/diacare/early/2020/05/12/dc20-0576.full.pdf

to everyone struggling to find motivation, I have a new theory I am trying out and it's working - you need to get excited about the new you, more than focussing on how hard it is or what you're missing out on. If I remember all the times I have succeeded it is due to being happy about the future and excited about my new life, rather than all the times I failed trying to restrict myself. Exercise really helps with the positive thinking although it takes a few days to get to the "happy chemicals" stage but keep at it! Exercise seems to make me eat much healthier too (At the moment doing short bursts of 15 mins of HIIT which is a small time commitment but adds up).... Try to stay happy, excited and positive and that really works! Also fasting in the mornings for as long as possible till first eating. You can build up to it for longer periods.

Plus flights from Pakistan, which has a serious, yet little-reported, outbreak of CV-19. Yet two flights daily were arriving until a couple of weeks ago.

@TheOrigBrave Why is the risk of a worse outcome for overweight people who get Covid-19 the motivation to lose weight? Why not the increase risk of type 2 diabetes, or heart problems? Is it because it's more immediate

yes. I wasn't bothered by the stats suggesting that as an obese person I would be less likely to live to 80/90/100. I don't want those decades and I would rather have the cake. but not living to 50, or even being hospitalised for weeks and then having awful lungs for the rest of my life, is a very different threat.