obesity Britain 

This wobbling over obesity has been farcical

For the road to Damascus, read the road to Corona. Last week the government announced that TV adverts for “junk foods” high in fat, sugar or salt would be banned before the 9pm watershed. Yesterday it unveiled its “Better Health” campaign calling on the public to embrace a healthy lifestyle. The reason for all this is Boris Johnson’s conviction that being overweight was the reason he nearly died of Covid-19, and that obesity is a significant factor in the virus’s toll of death or serious illness. There’s no reason to…

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obesity Britain 

Obesity is a national obsession, not a disease

The Royal College of Physicians has said that, in order to bring obesity under control, it should be viewed not as a result of lifestyle choice but as a disease. Statistics about obesity are contestable and should be treated with caution. There is no doubt, however, that being overweight exacerbates both the incidence and severity of certain conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. To call obesity itself a disease, however, is an abuse of language. A disease is an organic disorder that affects a particular function and happens…

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