Nation aiming to tackle its 'obesity time bomb'

The United Kingdom government will enforce a number of regulations on food retailers and advertisers to combat weight gain, as mounting evidence links obesity to increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection.

The new rules include a ban on "two-for-one" junk-food promotions, as well as restrictions on the airing times of television and online commercials for fatty and sugary products.

Two in three Britons are overweight or obese, according to the UK Department of Health and Social Care, and the pandemic has instilled new urgency within the government to diffuse what it calls the "obesity time bomb".

There is growing evidence that COVID-19 can worsen conditions linked with obesity, while people who are overweight also tend to experience more severe symptoms. Nearly 8 percent of critically ill patients with COVID-19 in UK intensive care units have been morbidly obese, according to Public Health England, or PHE, compared with 2.9 percent of the general population.

"If we all do our bit, we can reduce our health risks and protect ourselves against coronavirus－as well as taking pressure off the NHS," the UK's prime minister, Boris Johnson, said on Monday.

Studies have shown that risk of death from COVID-19 among obese patients is as much as 40 percent higher, which means they have a Body Mass Index, or BMI, of 35 to 40. That risk increases to 90 percent among patients with a BMI that is more than 40, people who are deemed to be morbidly obese. BMI is a measure that assesses whether an individual is a healthy weight, and is calculated by dividing weight by height.

"Obesity increases the risk of serious illness and death from coronavirus, so it's vital we take action on obesity to protect the National Health Service and improve our nation's health," said Matt Hancock, the UK's health and social care secretary.

Under the new regulations, new laws will ban the advertising of foods that are high in fat, sugar, or salt on television or online before 9 pm, which is when children are most likely to see them. This new measure comes off the back of analysis by Cancer Research UK that found almost half of all food adverts shown in September 2019 across four popular UK channels promoted unhealthy foods.

The Obesity Health Alliance welcomed the government's move to address the "relentless advertising and promotion of unhealthy food".

New legislation will also end "buy one, get one free" promotions of unhealthy foods in stores. And shops will be forbidden from placing such foods in prominent areas.

Large restaurants, cafes, and takeaways will soon be mandated to print calorie information on their menus. The government also said it will expand weight management support within the National Health Service.

Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said the government had taken "significant strides forward" in restricting junk food advertising, but that there was still a "lack of impetus" on expanding access to approved treatments for obesity.

"COVID-19 has shown us that we have no time to wait," Goddard said.