Obese and covid

[Alex50]

I can see us all going on rashening soon. More control over our lives. Mind you the generation from 2nd world war all seem to live a long time, with no obesity issues so maybe a good thing.

www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/25/public-health-england-calls-for-action-on-obesity-in-covid-19-fight

Kind of depressing, obesity has killed orders of magnitude more people and consumed more NHS resources than COVID, yet the narrative is action because of covid.

It just shows how misguided public health messaging is.

I'm 33 with a bmi of 37 and a physical disability that makes me prone to clots. The articles this morning have absolutely terrified me. I've lost a stone in lockdown but I'm scared it's too little too late. Nothing I can do but keep working at it and hoping for the best .

Rashening?

Anyone know if there has been actual peer reviewed research on obesity with no underlying health conditions? I am BMI 40 but wouldn’t be at the same risk as say, someone BMI 40 with diabetes.

The health intervention would need to work for individuals though. I was referred to one of these schemes by my gp a few years ago. There was a 6 month waiting list for the initial appointment, then the 6 week course of sessions was during office hours. I said that id do much better with a structured weight loss program like protein shakes as replacement meals. They just shrugged and said well buy some then.

My worry is that the “honey won’t catch many flies”, and the government will resort to scare tactics to get the obese to stop eating. Not sure if that creates more problems than it solves tbh.

Rationing I meant 😂

It made me laugh because rashening immediately made me think of bacon, which is the opposite of what we should be thinking when talking about losing weight

Great now I want a bacon sandwich

Rashening is better, reminds me of bacon .

Mmm, bacon (I am dieting).

Sounds like another way of the public being blamed...

I read it was more about metabolic health associated with obesity - for example diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which tend to go together.

No, as a fat person I think it's fine to warn people that their weight puts them at extra risk. It's not like there arent things you can do to lower your risk, be that lose weight, or be very strict w social distancing.

@Sisterwives

Rationing of bacon?

It's actually spurred me on to loose some weight.
I had a BMI of 34 and I'm down to 32.5 (still a while to go, I know).

It wasn't the sole reason for me to diet/ exercise but it was what caused me to 'start'.

It’s spurred me to lose weight. I was BMI 29 and a bit and now I’m creeping towards 25. It was Boris Johnson’s illness that prompted me to do something about my weight, as he reflected afterwards that his weight had contributed to his illness.

I don’t think the government will put in any sort of rationing - that’d be daft, but perhaps some action against the food companies who push unhealthy processed stuff at us night and day, and support for weight loss would be good.

The NHS has a good weight loss app for free, actually, and lots of people have got on well with Couch25K

[quote KatyChe]@Sisterwives

Rationing of bacon?[/quote]
Sounds good to me I detest bacon.

The obesity in this country has been a problem for years. People have been hounded by medical proffesionals for years.

This isn't a new topic, it's just that there is an opportunity here to push it and link it to a current issue (that is a real concern right now) and try and tackle the issue.
Nothing wrong with it. Some people will act, some won't.

I have a hormonal issue which means I find it very difficult to lose weight. I don’t know where that leaves me.

Obviously there won't be rationing, I assume that's not a serious suggestion. I don't really understand why there seems to be a negative view of attempts to highlight the dangers of obesity especially with covid.

There will always be people who can't lose weight for whatever reason but that's not a reason not to try to improve public health.

Why do posters only think of themselves?

I'm not reading the article because I'm obese and suffer from health anxiety so I'm worried it'll send me into a panic for weeks. I know I'm at higher risk and need to lose weight and I'm trying but the scare tactics don't help my mental health which in turn makes it harder to lose weight. My BMI is well over 40 so no hope of getting it under 30 anytime soon. My target just now is to get it under 40. The risk doesn't seem to be all that much higher if you have obesity without the other risky conditions. It would be great if this means the NHS offers more help with losing weight that was available in the evenings/weekends. I think some sort of financial incentive of making fruit and veg, and lean meat cheaper and junk food more expensive would definitely help. I'm not sure that the focus on trying to get people to lose weight whilst trying to encourage and offer a discount for eating out and takeaways works very well together.

@Orangeblossom78

Sounds like another way of the public being blamed...

God, could you sound any more childish? There's been a ton of evidence ever since covid-19 hit Europe that obesity increases the risks of developing complications. The government would be extremely remiss not to inform the public so they can take steps to their own health.

Anyone know if there has been actual peer reviewed research on obesity with no underlying health conditions? I am BMI 40 but wouldn’t be at the same risk as say, someone BMI 40 with diabetes.

Yes - it concluded that obesity is a risk factor in its own right - independent of diabetes and hypertension.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/oby.22831

I really worry about this. I am very obese and hugely ashamed of it, I have been so anxious about Covid as a result.

On the positive side, it has spurred me on to lose weight. I have lost around 12kg since March, and BMI is down from over 42 to 37.7. However, there is still such a long way to go....

@Beebityboo

I'm 33 with a bmi of 37 and a physical disability that makes me prone to clots. The articles this morning have absolutely terrified me. I've lost a stone in lockdown but I'm scared it's too little too late. Nothing I can do but keep working at it and hoping for the best .

Are you female? You’re much less likely to die from CV if you are Regardless that’s a massive achievement. Rather than too little too late think of it as an awesome start to a great new you.

I can't imagine anything worse for our diets than rationing to be honest. The obsession with low fat everything and high carb /fibre diet would no doubt prevail and people like me who rally don't tolerate carbs well would either end up malnourished or overweight again. I've just lost 2.5 stone (bmi 29.8 to 23 ish) eating full fat everything - I'd be furious if I was dictated to about how I ate.

What's really needed is a nuanced approach- for some people it is just a case of education - but they need to be educated in the right way - low fat doesn't work for everyone and drs need to be aware of different approaches that work. For others it's a psychological issue and they need help with that. And of course for others it will be a medical issue that needs addressing. We are too black and white about our approach

If rationing was applied to sugar and all processed foods it would make a huge difference, IMO. Not that I think it would be a good idea.

Whatever weight you are, being fitter improves things on so many levels. So even if you can’t shift the weight, do increase your exercise. Off for my walk now.