The government’s plan to tackle obesity needs a rethink – calorie counting puts people with eating disorders in danger

This is important to me and thousands of other men, women and children who suffer from eating disorders. I understand that obesity is a problem and that the government is attempting to “fix” that, but there are others, like myself, who are at the other end of the spectrum and have received no help or support during lockdown. It’s like we don’t exist, it’s as if they don’t have any comprehension that we are very real and some of us are very unwell.

Having numbers shoved down my neck nearly killed me on a good few occasions because you’re like a moth to a flame, you can’t help it, you’re like a drug addict looking for the next fix. The lower the number, the more “acceptable” the food product. At one point I was living off 100 calories a day including fluids and purging that with laxatives because those numbers are everywhere and it’s terrifying to be that out of control. By all means, have a menu with numbers that can be requested but please, please don’t take away our right to eat out without fear of repercussions that are very, very real to us.

Laura Hannan
Darwen, Lancashire

Less travel, more recovery

The government’s approach to travel quarantines has been inept because it is political rather than practical. That does not mean that there are not good reasons to discourage travel.

The R number for Covid-19 varies according to social contact. If society is broken down into self-contained groups, Covid-19 will not pass between those groups and will only spread within the groups that have an infected person. That is why the lockdown was so successful. In relaxing the lockdown it is essential to keep groups small and retain as much isolation between them as possible. This will help keep the resurgence in small clusters so that trace and test can be used to isolate the infected instead of a lockdown of a whole community.

If isolation is maintained between groups, economic activity can increase, but it is essential to resist the lobbying of those parts of the economy that break down that isolation.

Put very simply, the less people socialise and travel, the faster the economic recovery can be. The idea that you can safely travel where the R number is lower is naive. The very act of mixing groups of people increases the R number.

Holidaymakers travelling together, socialising together abroad and returning together will increase infections and spread it on their return to the UK simply by increasing their social contacts.

Likewise, the government encouraging a return to offices and the use of public transport is counterproductive.

The UK government must fine-tune the recovery of the economy to get as much going as possible, while curbing those activities that promote social contact and the spread of infection. That will generate the resources they then need to focus on compensating those who lose their livelihoods for the greater good.

A trade-off in personal liberties is inevitable if you want to maximise economic output. Just as there is in trace and test and the wearing of masks if you want to save the lives of the vulnerable.

Jon Hawksley
London

So the prime minister’s partner tells him it really is time he lost some weight and there is evidence that Covid-19 mortality rates are higher for the obese. The perfect opportunity for the narcissists’ narcissist to refocus a national health and economic crisis on himself to distract us from present dangers and the chaos that lies ahead. Watch out for photo opportunities of plucky Boris wobbling on a bicycle and jogging in the park. Expect to see a galaxy of photographs of a tanned and slimmer prime minister in September before the weight piles on again. Meanwhile, the nation is thrown the usual smorgasbord of contradictory titbits: eat out, don’t eat out – go on holiday, but only if you can stay home – go to Spain, don’t go to Spain. The silly season just got sillier.

Graham Powell
Cirencester

The concept of the second wave of Covid-19 is a human cerebral contrivance. All there is in this progression of this disease is nature’s inevitable and obviously unconscious response to human behaviour. It ebbs and flows with our competing inclinations. So it’s about to have another go at showing us our place in the great run of things as our more short-sighted brethren, disporting themselves on holiday around our continent, fail to see the wood for the trees. Echoes of 2016.

John Northover
London

The government action on the obesity crisis is too feeble. More cycle lanes are a useful but timid response to this crisis. Making sure there is a safe route for every child to walk to school is more important.

Immediate action needs to be taken to stop the food industry peddling junk food. Tax on sugar and fat and a subsidy on good food if necessary. There need to be stark warnings in government films about the dangers of junk food and obesity. Not obscure traffic lights, but warnings in plain English.

Generally, we buy the cheapest food because it is still called food.

That is the first phase. Next is to change the whole culture relevant to food. Education is the key. Schoolchildren need to be taught about food and dietary requirements. Every child should be taught to cook simple, wholesome food and teach their parents. School dinners should be free to everybody and a doctor’s note required for anybody not wanting them. The NHS spends billions on the treatment of obesity and related problems such as diabetes. Bringing children up on good food will soon show the financial benefits, as well as changing our culture in regards to food.

Of course, parents are responsible for the food their children eat and every adult for themselves, but freedom of choice is producing a dysfunctional nation.

Dr Robert Murray
Nottingham

It is not unusual for us to delude ourselves, but the fact remains the country in the world with the worst ratio of deaths to cases is the UK. Please take care.

Richard Simmons
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