By Emma Landsburgh
(TW: mention of eating disorder)
We have suddenly heard more from our Prime Minister this past week than we have the whole pandemic. Johnson has announced a new initiative for approaching healthy living. Recently a study was released stating that Covid-19 was worsened by obesity and unhealthy living. This has led Boris Johnson to lead a demonising campaign that is inconsiderate to those suffering and/or to those who have suffered from eating disorders, the new campaign also forgets about the many of Britain’s families who live in poverty.
Healthy lifestyles are often difficult to obtain and maintain, due to the media’s view of body types and the cost of food products etc. Often buying food in bulk, like premade sauces and bags of chicken nuggets, is far cheaper than attempting to stretch the food budget to fit inflated fresh produce prices. To add to the issue, being able to workout has been transformed into a leisure practice that is difficult to do in a world where people are working 40-hour weeks. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is admirable but is often an unattainable reality for many.
Boris Johnson’s health kick has clearly been started with rose-tinted glasses. Frequently, the Prime Minister seems to be out of touch with the public, but this new endeavour has clarified the fact. Of course, trying to encourage the public to lead healthy lifestyles is a step forward, but it seems a bit out of place from the leader of the Conservative party. A party who has led the way through continuous austerity cuts. The new health kick has been started for a very select group, leaving out a large majority.
This new campaign is clearly personal for Boris, especially after his health scare after falling ill with coronavirus. Boris Johnson has stated that he struggled with obesity before this new health kick. He has described his time in hospital during his coronavirus scare as his “wake up call”. Of course, the study recently released has fuelled the Prime Minister to encourage Britain to do the same as him. However, he has completely ignored much of the population.
The tactics for making the British public healthier is demonising the people that cannot live the lifestyle he now expects. Through this new initiative the government will crack down on junk food advertising and introduce calorie counts on menus. Advertisements including junk food will be banned on television or online until 9pm. The government will look into adding calorie counts to alcohol as well. Alongside these regulations, promotional offers will be prohibited.
However, these new rules completely go against the government's tactics for boosting the economy and encouraging people to return to restaurants, bars, and shops. The discounted offers on food items are an incentive to go but with the government’s muddled tactics on enforcing healthier lifestyles has again left the public with an unclear message. Already the government has failed the nation throughout this pandemic, so to demonise the public whilst they help boost the economy is a slap in the face. To them it is between choosing the NHS or the economy.
The new rulings are not only muddled, they completely ignore many of the population. Food products are incredibly expensive, to buy individual ingredients to make up a meal is an incredibly difficult and purse emptying prospect. Many have to live with a small amount of money, living pay cheque to pay cheque. A healthy lifestyle is far out of reach for many when they can barely afford to feed their family. To the 14 million living in poverty in Britain, the only option is to buy frozen food in bulk in order to have multiple meals a week at an affordable price. Boris Johnson has tried to enforce an unachievable lifestyle on a large amount of the population, whilst ignoring the true problems embedded within the British society.
Calorie counting is already an unhealthy obsessive habit for some. It can lead to mental health disorders. Over 1.6 million in the UK suffer from eating disorders, although this may be an underestimate due to the many who suffer silently. Counting calories has a damaging effect on mental health. Constantly adding up and deciding whether you can have food due to numbers creates a dangerous thought process of whether you deserve to eat. In the beginning this process may seem health conscious but it can very rapidly fall into obsessive behaviour. The government's guidance is misplaced and disregards many peoples struggles. Now with the new guidance the government is encouraging this detrimental behaviour and making it far more difficult for those recovering. Not only is this damaging to those already impacted by eating disorders but may lead to a large rise in eating disorders.
The government once again has completely ignored the struggles of the British public, a problem of an out of touch government. Already, ideal body types have been spread throughout the media for decades, as the demonising of different body types runs rife. These kinds of pressures run deep and have an impact on the whole population. These kinds of initiatives show that this government cannot speak for everybody and often does not think ahead. Encouraging a healthy lifestyle is admirable, however Boris Johnson’s plan falls short.
A way that the government could have helped was made fresh produce products and exercise far more accessible and made a healthy lifestyle more attainable. Funding is often the key, by offering poorer areas access to healthy living. Rather than the constant openings of food banks under this government’s cuts. A government that is inconsiderate of those with eating disorders is one that has continued to wear their blinders regarding the population.
The only way to improve the health of the British population is to step away from the insistent fear mongering and try to embrace the ideas of the body positivity movement. Not only that, the government needs to realise the daily lifestyles of the public are extremely different to those who work in Westminster. The struggle of feeding the family is a daily occurrence to many, and this initiative belittles the lifestyle that they have adopted in order to live under government cuts. Once again, the government’s lack of knowledge about the public has been shown with clarity.