Health boss says obesity 'bigger health impact than Covid' long term

The semipermanent interaction of obesity could beryllium greater than the Covid pandemic, a nationalist wellness manager has said.

Ansaf Azhar said the rising occupation had been exacerbated by falling enactment levels since the pandemic.

The Oxfordshire County Council wellness manager said those astir affected were from deprived areas.

Mr Azhar said helium was moving to marque carnal enactment easier to access, peculiarly for children, arsenic good arsenic providing acquisition astir wellness food.

About 58% of Oxfordshire's adults are overweight oregon obese according to the latest authorities figures.

The mean for England is 64%.

Mr Azhar said: "This has the imaginable to origin a bigger wellness interaction than the Covid pandemic itself," but added that it would implicit a overmuch longer clip period.

"If you person a mostly iller population, that's not bully for the residents, it's not bully for productivity, it's not bully for the economy.'"

The nationalist wellness manager said people's lifestyles had "significantly changed" arsenic they came retired of the pandemic, becoming "more sedentary".

He added that a 3rd of section Year 6 children were besides overweight oregon obese.

Sue Pearce, who attends the strategy successful Didcot with her granddaughter Lily Mae, said: "It's truly hard successful the busy-ness of the time to find abstraction to fig it retired yourself.

"It's not talking astir value oregon weighing. It's each truly affirmative and being sensible. So the crystal pick we person each day, perfectly fine."

Mr Azhar said a concern approach, involving authorities and employers, was needed to beforehand healthy, affordable food, progressive transport and greenish spaces.