No 10 wants people to lose weight before the second wave

[Redolent]

What could possibly go wrong with encouraging people to go on a quick crash diet??

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As well as longer-term proposals to reduce the incidence of obesity, government officials are having urgent discussions about how to persuade people to lose weight in the next few months, before an anticipated resurgence in coronavirus cases in the autumn.

In England, 64% of adults are classed as overweight or obese and 29% as obese as measured by BMI, among the highest levels in Europe.

One official involved in the emergency planning said the government was alarmed at the possible death toll from a second wave. A programme is expected imminently, possibly within 10 days, based on encouraging people to reduce their calorific intake and lose weight rapidly.

No one is forcing you to take part.

The government want people to lose weight anyway. It costs the NHS a fortune every year treating weight-related illness. Obviously people didnt think that heart disease, cancer and diabetes were good enough reasons to lose weight. Maybe the collective fear of covid will be enough to persuade some people to lose weight, and surely that is a good thing?

I wonder how they plan to help with this?

Is Boris going to set up a gov.uk slimming world group? Online of course

I won't be going on some crackpot crash diet! I need to lose weight but a crash diet isn't the answer for the majority of people.

Maybe it will be this that means we're allowed to dare to even suggest that people take some responsibility for their own health, even if that means losing weight.

Peope who are very overweight can safely lose weight quickly, with all things being relative and whilst they might not get quickly to a "healthy" weight if they can get out of the morbidly obese category that has to be a good thing?

So they want us to go back to work and spend money on lunches, lattes and croissants and they are tempting us with half price meals and take away sin August. Sounds like a great weight loss plan to me

So they want us to go back to work and spend money on lunches, lattes and croissants and they are tempting us with half price meals and take away sin August. Sounds like a great weight loss plan to me

@FrugiFan

No one is forcing you to take part.

The government want people to lose weight anyway. It costs the NHS a fortune every year treating weight-related illness. Obviously people didnt think that heart disease, cancer and diabetes were good enough reasons to lose weight. Maybe the collective fear of covid will be enough to persuade some people to lose weight, and surely that is a good thing?

Rapid weight loss diets don’t work in the medium to long term and can do more harm than good. That’s my problem. And they’re bound to panic-driven and not about genuine lifestyle changes.

What's the betting a friend of Dominic Cummings owns a weight loss firm?

of course people need to lose weight.
they have been quite quiet about the effects of obesity on the virus. no one wants to know!
its similar to telling smokers not to smoke because of the virus.

I wonder how they plan to help with this?

Stop expecting the government to prop you up at every turn. Eat less, move more and take responsibility for yourself Ffs! The world does not owe you a fucking diet plan.
I'm no Boris fan at all but all he's done is point out things you can do to help yourself get over it faster if it happens to you.

diets dont work, i have been eating salads for lunch for a year or so!
just need bigger clothes.

@catbellz

I wonder how they plan to help with this?

Stop expecting the government to prop you up at every turn. Eat less, move more and take responsibility for yourself Ffs! The world does not owe you a fucking diet plan.
I'm no Boris fan at all but all he's done is point out things you can do to help yourself get over it faster if it happens to you.

I agree, you can move more, you dont need any official helping you.

It’s all part of the governments plan to abdicate responsibility for what happens next.

‘Cases rise? People broke the guidelines’
‘You died from covid? It’s because you didn’t lose weight like we told you to’. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

All they’ll do is provide the ventilators and PPE.

@catbellz er,I don’t need help ta! It was a tongue in cheek question,clearly JOKEY!!

Are you always so uptight?

Well, as someone who is already old and asthmatic, I worked this one out for myself.... have dropped from "obese" to "overweight" slowly since March 23rd. Would like to continue dropping slowly. Am just trying to eat more healthily and up the exercise.

Boris looks like he could do with losing a few pounds too actually

Makes sense to me.

But most intelligent overweight people would have realised this before now and not needed government to encourage them.

I imagine Boris' personal situation has had an influence. He's a 50+yo overweight man who was really quite ill with it.

As for diets don't work, maybe not the daddy commercial ones (although they will if you stick to them) but eating the amount of calories you need, from real food, less a little deficit, definitely does.

I was on this from the start of lockdown and have dropped 1.5 stone, not far off ‘healthy BMI now. It’s personal choice.

well done to those who have lost weight,
i have put on a stone

was surprised to see at a recently opened children's playground a sign talking about taking responsibility,
is this common?

Yes, I know two very obese women who have always found losing weight "impossible". Since it became clear that so many of the "no underlying conditions" deaths were people who were obese, Covid has been the motivation they needed.

Both have dropped several dress sizes (they were both morbidly obese, so had a lot to lose) and one has just completed Couch 2 5k. I'm really pleased for them and it does prove it's possible.

Losing weight for appearance's sake is never going to be a strong enough motivator but doing it because it might just save your life surely must be?

@BackInTime

So they want us to go back to work and spend money on lunches, lattes and croissants and they are tempting us with half price meals and take away sin August. Sounds like a great weight loss plan to me

It's almost like the government hasn't thought all of this through. Heavens forfend.

Are they all actually going to do this or are they going to be the exceptions yet again?

It hasn't got to be a crash diet, but surely anything is better than nothing not just with regards to coronavirus but also general health. Now is a perfect time for fitting extra outdoor exercise in. Unless we can find a vaccine, this thing isn't going to to away - all we can do is control is and keep ourselves as healthy as possible.

Even if you don't need to lose weight, surely it makes sense to eat better and exercise more anyway.

I wonder exactly how much thought they will give the the complexity of reasons people are overweight.