UK PM to ban 'junk food deals' in a bid to resolve nation's obesity crisis

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will reportedly scrap discount deals for junk food in a bid to resolve the nation’s obesity crisis, which is believed to be a key factor in the severity of Britain’s coronavirus outbreak. Johnson’s plans to ‘ban junk food deals’ comes a day after UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme, which would have cut-price meals to revive the hard-hit economy. The expected plan of action by the UK PM also comes after several obesity campaigners said that Sunak’s scheme is a ‘green light for junk food’. 

Johnson’s battle against obesity is expected to put him on a crash course between libertarian free marketeer supporters and those who feel tough steps are needed to resolve the obesity crisis. While the UK PM has reportedly warned that public needed to slim down to protect themselves from the virus, Sunak on July 8 announced that £10 per person will be cut off the bills of people eating out in August. Soon after Sunak’s announcement regarding the new scheme, the UK government reportedly faced a backlash from several obesity campaigners.  

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‘Massively wasted opportunity’ 

According to an international media outlet, Tam Fry, who is the chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said that Sunak’s initiative felt like the ultimate ‘buy one, get one free deal’. Fry reportedly criticised the scheme and said that it looks like a ‘green light’ to promote old junk menu that the participating restaurant feels it can get away with. Fry also pointed out to the increasing obesity rates and its recent link to COVID-19 and reportedly added that Sunak’s scheme is a ‘massively wasted opportunity’. 

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The recent criticism comes after a famous junk food outlet confirmed themselves to be a part of the scheme. While some health experts reportedly said that the government should have invested money to a healthy eating drives, others said that the UK government should have used the opportunity to discount healthy options that would have benefitted everyone. 

Meanwhile, England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries recently said that the Britons could protect themselves against coronavirus by losing weight if the disease struck again. Harries reportedly warned that obesity, which has proven to increase the risk of coronavirus-infected patients dying, was a risk the UK could do something about ahead of winter. She further urged Britons to be as fit as possible and to keep practising social distancing over the winter. 

(Image: AP)

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