In a bid to tackle obesity, the NHS has teamed up with online weight loss platform, GetSlim, to provide weight loss programmes for a £1 a week.
Some areas are already providing fully funded 12-week places to online weight club ‘GetSlim’, and it is expected that a number of local councils are on course to do the same although it is not known whether this includes Erewash Borough Council. This week the NHS have teamed up with online weight loss club ‘GetSlim’ to provide a special 12-week weight loss programme, for just £12.
That works out to be just £1 a week, making it one of the most cost-effective weight loss programmes ever.
These measures come as Boris Johnson announced that tackling obesity is the UK’s “top priority” as we recover from the pandemic. Action is being taken after the links between coronavirus and obesity in the UK were revealed, in which 62% of Covid-19 deaths were people who are overweight or obese.
Public Health England recently established that more than 40% of adults in England have gained weight during the pandemic.
Worldwide 90% of deaths caused by the virus are in countries with high obesity rates. This has prompted warnings that Britain’s pandemic death toll has been fuelled by an underlining obesity crisis, in which two in three adults are now classified as overweight or obese. Currently, conditions caused by being overweight or obese are projected to cost the NHS £9.7 billion by 2050, with wider costs to society estimated to reach £49.9 billion per year.