bbc | Emily Thomas asks whether the coronavirus pandemic will turn out to be
the defining moment in the fight against obesity. Will we see
governments take radical action, now that the pandemic has turned the
spotlight on this growing global
problem? And why hasn’t the pandemic made most of us eat more
healthily? Even experts have been surprised by just how strong an impact
obesity has been found to have on the risks of coronavirus. We hear
from Professor Barry Popkin, of the University of North
Carolina, who led a major study into the relationship between the two.
He tells us he’s worried that food companies are using the pandemic to
push ultra processed food on low-income populations.
Professor Corinna
Hawkes, of City, University of London, explains
how obesity policy became personal in the UK after Boris Johnson caught
the virus. And Jacqueline Bowman-Busato, Policy Lead for the European
Association for the Study of Obesity, tells us how her own experience of
living with obesity has led her to lobby
for changes in how obesity is viewed and treated. She says the pandemic
has provided a much needed wake up call on a neglected and
misunderstood public health issue. If you would like to get in touch
with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
