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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Boris declares war on fat

865 replies

Weallhavevalidopinions · 15/05/2020 09:25

Boris has said his being overweight contributed to his problems with Covid-19.
Stories this morning suggest he will wage war on fat...

What type of help do you think might be suggested?

Have you decided to lose weight due to Covid-19 worries?

YABU - no I will not lose weight due to Covid worries
YANBU - I will lose weight due to Covid worries

OP posts:
Summerof699 · 15/05/2020 18:14

I'm overweight. Call me cynical but the government may like overweight people as lots have heart attacks and die around retirement age, saving money on state pensions.

LuluJakey1 · 15/05/2020 18:20

@OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow I did ask but they were all during the day and I was working full-time. Now am SAHM but have it under control now. I was thinking what might help others exercise.

Bluntness100 · 15/05/2020 18:22

They're preparing to blame fat people for the government's failings

Don’t be ridiculous, would you prefer they hid the fact that obese people are not vulnerable? They have to tell people. It’s not a conspiracy for gods sake.

Bluntness100 · 15/05/2020 18:22

More vulnerable, not “not vulnerable”

Thighmageddon · 15/05/2020 18:23

duffledaisy I haven't seen anyone anywhere saying fat people deserved to die of CV.

We can't escape though that the vast majority of us know there are risks to being obese, it's just that CV has snuck up and presented us with a clear and present danger to some.

We need to stop thinking "it won't happen to me".

OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow · 15/05/2020 18:25

@LuluJakey1 I was surprised they were all during the day (i went on my breaks as I had flexible self employment). It's probably when the gym allows it because they are not busy, I guess

ToffeeYoghurt · 15/05/2020 18:27

I posted this on another thread yesterday. A guide for Boris re tackling obesity.

Ensuring people have proper housing with access to proper cooking facilities and storage.

Enough money (be it through employment, pension, or benefits) to afford healthy fresh food (no food banks).

An overhauled NHS so people are no longer (as they were pre pandemic) left waiting months on end for treatment (suffering prolonged mobility issues as a consequence).

Also good mental health provision including help and support for comfort eating, and looking again at the pros and cons of the different mental health drugs.

In some cases, certainly when its long-term use, it's perhaps preferable to prescribe the out of fashion benzodiazepines rather than the modern anti depressants that often cause weight gain.

Oh and we'd need to stop dismissing patients symptoms, especially women, as mental health or hormones. I've seen several posters talk about this sort of experience when they had undiagnosed thyroid conditions (which can lead to weight gain).

Boris- over to you.

Oliversmumsarmy · 15/05/2020 18:57

You didn’t urinate 38 litres of water. Your bladder also cannot hold enough urine to allow you to urinate for ten minutes, even with a low flow as your bladder can only hold 400-600ml of liquid

Actually the human bladder can hold 32oz/2lbs of liquid so it is quite possible to lose that much. Add in post birth stuff and breast feeding and as you can see it is quite possible to lose that amount.

Just because you are obese doesn’t mean that you will automatically not survive or need to go on a ventilator.

Dontevenstart · 15/05/2020 18:59

Boris can fuck off and rot.

OmgThereAreNoPlanesAboveMeNow · 15/05/2020 19:04

Actually the human bladder can hold 32oz/2lbs

Erm. That's some superhuman bladder

SimonJT · 15/05/2020 19:08

A bladder that is unable to empty can hold 950ml yes, if the bladder isn’t blocked the person would wet themselves well before their bladder reached 950ml.

EmeraldShamrock · 15/05/2020 19:11

Hi Toffee. Helena posted your post on this thread earlier. Hopefully your points are heard and they take the issues on board.

fascinated · 15/05/2020 19:15

I think it is funny that people interpreted

You can go out for an hour a day for exercise

As

You must go out for an hour a day for exercise

At the end of the day it’s good though! Actually! Haha

NamesNamesSoManyNames · 15/05/2020 19:21

Only they never said an hour...

Celerysam · 15/05/2020 19:21

*They're preparing to blame fat people for the government's failings. Plain as day.

I agree. It's a distraction from the reality of the Government's incompetence.*

But is there not a grain of truth in the idea that if we all looked after our health and didn't have preventable health problems like obesity and the associated type 2 diabetes, heart and respiratory problems that we probably wouldn't have had as many deaths and needed as many ITU beds?

Bloomburger · 15/05/2020 19:24

Does it matter if Boris is going to lose weight? So many of you throw out that you will if he does.

He was very lucky to survive, you may not be but hey, fuck it, if Boris isn't going to lose weight don't either and take your chance.

Bloomburger · 15/05/2020 19:31

The only politician who could currently lead this campaign with any integrity is Tom Watson. Lost weight sensibly and put his diabetes into remission. I think only someone who’s done it can have the level of empathy needed to convince anyone.

^ Tom Watson should be in jail, I bet he'd lose a shit load of weight in there.

Leflic · 15/05/2020 19:41

I’ve posted loads but I wanted to leave with a positive spin for those of us with a bit to shift.
The upside is that if you’re fat now, you are so much better placed to really enjoy being thinner in a couple of months time. The joy at getting back into clothes you used to wear.Things looking better because they aren’t stretched or riding up ( or down). Maybe thin enough for things not to rub or chafe.Not needing big smelly poos or feeling ill because you’ve overeaten. People saying well done and you feeling pleased that people notice. It feels amazing when the rolls of fat have gone and you look stronger and fitter.

I think people who have always been thin don’t really get any of that. A lot of thin people are actually worried about getting to the size we are now. It was important to my friend that she could always fit into her wedding dress but that mindset clouded every food eaten. She’d never have the thrill that I had, being able to wear a size 10 wedding dress after being a 16 the year before.
Possibly we’ll have to be like that too in order to maintain are new thinner selves but we won’t actually have the same stress. We’ve already lived with being a size 32 or 24 or 18 or whatever.
We are now just choosing to be a bit healthier and enjoying the benefits of that. Good luck to us and Boris.

ToffeeYoghurt · 15/05/2020 19:52

Oh! Sorry people for the repeat posting. That'll teach me to post without RTFT.Blush

Butteredtoast55 · 15/05/2020 19:55

He is definitely right and obesity is a key factor, but he's also a massive hypocrite. I wonder whether a brush with death, the arrival of a new baby to a father closing in on 60 and the need to shift some blame off his own incompetence is his motivation?

HeIenaDove · 15/05/2020 19:58

@ToffeeYoghurt I thought that post needed to be seen here so i copied and pasted it but made it clear it was you who originally posted it Smile

ALongHardWinter · 15/05/2020 20:06

I remember reading somewhere about a year ago that BJ had lost around a stone and half in weight since getting together with Carrie? Apparently,she had put a stop to his 'late night cheese and chorizo habit'.
I'm overweight,have been for most of my adult life. Two years ago I had a very serious health scare that nearly killed me (it wasn't caused by my being overweight but it wasn't helped) so I decided to do something about it,once and for all,at the age of 54. I was spurred on by best friend who had lost an incredible 7 stone (98 lbs) over the previous 2 years.
Since the end of May 2018,I have lost 4 and a half stone (63 lbs) but still have another 6 stone (84 lbs) to go. It's been a long slow process,there have been weeks at a time when I've not lost anything. But I'm back on track now and since the start of lockdown,I've lost 9 lbs. I reckon it will take me another 18 months at least to lose the rest. But I'm going to give myself a fantastic reward when I hit target. Smile

ToffeeYoghurt · 15/05/2020 20:12

No problem at all @HelenaDove Smile
The more people that see it the better as far as I'm concerned.

Chillipeanuts · 15/05/2020 20:43

SomeHalfHumanCreatureThing

Smoking, weirdly, is protective against covid. It's very unusual, but that's what the numbers are saying.”

No, if you were listening to Inside Science. It’s nicotine that they think may be protective.

They stressed at the end of the programme, please do not take smoking up, it is very damaging to the lungs.

HeIenaDove · 15/05/2020 20:48

But none of that absolves us of personal responsibility

Which also means people could have taken personal responsibility instead of jetting off to Northern Italy AFTER the virus had already been well publicised.

People could have taken personal responsibility instead of boarding cruise ships AFTER the virus had already been well publicised.

People could have taken personal responsibility and not driven to second homes AFTER the virus had already been well publicised.

People could have not gone to Cheltenham

Or to the football matches.

But a. people wanted to do this and b. "i will lose money/my deposit if i dont go.

Personal responsibility seems to leave the building (do pardon the pun) when the risk of losing money is involved.