Latest tv commercial from the NHS begins…
“After the year we’ve had, many of us are carrying a few extra lockdown pounds. All that comfort eating and treating has made a mark.” It then goes on to say “Now’s the time to turn things around. Let’s shop smarter, eat better and move more. For free help and support to lose weight search better health.”
Hold on a second. Rewind please. What was it she said at the start? “After the year we’ve had, many of us are carrying a few extra lockdown pounds. All that comfort eating and treating has made a mark.”
Does that mean locking down has increased obesity? Sounds like that to me? The one condition that is crippling the NHS has increased because of lockdown? Locking down was to lessen the burden on the NHS and we’ve long term increased it as a result?
Don’t forget the stats:
- 30,000 obesity deaths in the UK a year. That’s 82 per day.
- 78,000 smoking deaths. That’s 213 per day.
- 7,500 alcohol deaths. That’s 21 per day.
Because of lockdown this has INCREASED???
We’ve tried to lessen the burden on the NHS by stopping people working, keeping them indoors and sending important key workers round with kebabs, chips and San Miguel? Obesity has increased as a result of this? Whoops! Didn’t see that coming!
Here’s the thing (and I’m qualified to speak on this because it’s what I do for a living. I’ve got like thousands upon thousands of hours experience in dealing with it). Simply saying “It’s time to shop smarter, eat better and move more” ain’t as easy as that and if you are overweight or obese you only know it too well. YOU are the authority on this as well. Once you get to that state, all sorts of stuff happens like you withdraw, you lose confidence, your mental health suffers, you can’t cope. And what do you do to feel better? You take more drugs (pizza, chocolate, alcohol, cigarettes) to cope because that’s what you know gives you a high.
