So if you’ve not heard there is a pretty crazy virus spreading around the world and it’s hitting everyone pretty hard. Most of us are now furloughed, kids are off school and we are stuck in our homes. But why is this happening? Why is it so bad? What can I do in this time?
Well, one of the first things to look at is the UK’s health status in general. It isn’t great. we are a nation that loves an average. I often hear, “I’m not overweight (overly fat) I’m average”, “I’m fit and healthy”… No you’re not. I’m not. I am currently 18-19% body fat. I should be between 10 and 15%. I am strong but I think I would struggle to run more than 10km right now. My body however is designed to run for prolonged periods of times and should really find 10km easy. So am I anywhere near where my body’s capabilities should be? Absolutely not. Are you?
In 2016 the WHO states that 1.9 billion individuals were overweight with 650 million classifying as obese. There is information about whether individuals are doing sufficient activity however as this is self reported I would question its validity. The reality is that the UK year after year is in the top 5 countries in Europe for obesity levels with over 63% of the population classed as overweight as recently as 2015. Unfortunately the trend is increasing still. Public Health England estimate that over 30,000 deaths in the UK each year are due to obesity issues and that on average we lose 9 years of life to this health issue.
So what does this have to do with Covid-19? Well this is a flu virus which is killing people primarily by shutting down their respiratory system. We live in a very under active country and world even. We get up, maybe walk the dog if we have one, then sit in our car, sit at work and then come home and maybe walk again, do some daily chores and follow that with more sitting. We recently had a campaign encouraging people to walk for at least 5 minutes a day. When as a nation we have to be told to walk at least 5 minutes a day, something has gone seriously wrong. What is actually happening in the world that people are allowing themselves to be that unfit and that unhealthy? Is it work? the demands on us to make money to provide for families or ourselves? What good is that money if you’re dead?
This global pandemic of obesity costs lives. It also costs the NHS beds and huge amounts of money (6.1 billion in direct costs in 2014/15, and 27 billion to wider society due to it’s impact on economic development). If you’re overweight currently then you’ve also dramatically increased your chances of mortality if you do contract Covid-19. Hospitals are ill equipped to handle overweight patients for a start but as your respiratory system is already in bad condition, you are much more likely to need care and help with breathing. Diabetes and Hypertension (both linked to obesity) have been listed as risk factors resulting in more severe illness and even death from Covid-19 by the European Assosciation for the Study of Obesity (EASO). A number of articles have come about recently claiming that this current crisis really brings to light how underfunded the NHS is. I agree, but maybe we should also take some accountability and accept that the NHS is stretched out too thin by things we do to ourselves.
What happened as the lock down was announced in the UK? We rushed to bars for a final night out and cleared the shops of their alcohol stores. That is ridiculous. From an outsiders point of view that is dependency. It’s not like shops were ever going to close. People just wanted a final night to get drunk with their friends. Or they were worried that alcohol would be hard to get hold of for the next couple of weeks. Have we really become a country that can only enjoy socialising with each other if we are drinking? What does our drinking culture actually bring us? Health risks, hangovers, and warped memories. That’s not to say never drink. This is a really crap time for so many people and maybe a beer or a glass of wine will help you right now but I don’t think anyone really needs to get drunk. I’m someone who can drink and will drink a lot when I actually go out but I rarely do it because I don’t see it as the way to have fun. I am also not writing this as someone who’s totally untouched by this situation. Luckily no one I know has passed away at this stage but I am losing my home in a week as I can’t afford to pay the rent. I’m very fortunate in having a fall back option to move back in with my mum short term while this situation stabilizes but I am unlucky enough to be in the group that haven’t been self employed long enough to get support. I also have too much in savings (tied up) to get universal credit. So I’m writing this as someone who has spent the last few weeks struggling to get the motivation to get out of bed and face the day. But here I am, now working as many hours a day as I can, trying to arrange a house move as well as dealing with a court case against my previous employer. I could have turned to alcohol. Although I do think a depressant at this stage would probably be a quick route to a worse situation.
It may seem as if I’m taking quite a negative outlook on the virus and current situation. I would agree. But now is the time to think of the worst outcomes and prepare for the worst. Some people will get their jobs back after this, some won’t. Some will get less money. Some will lose their homes. Some will lose their lives and many will lose loved ones. But we as individuals can make changes to what we do and how we act to dramatically reduce risk and increase our time with our family and even increase our incomes.
As I said, some people are just struggling right now and others are feeling like they have less time. I’m one of those with less time. I’m also one of those with no financial stability and facing the repercussions of it. But that doesn’t mean that I have an excuse to ignore a big problem that’s now facing the whole globe. Our persistence in abusing our body and excusing it by normalising it needs to stop. Imagine what the NHS could do with an extra 6.1 billion a year! Imagine how much more confident you would feel now, facing this virus if you knew you were in great shape! We can all contribute towards creating a better world and a healthier world. The next generation will only benefit from what we change and teach them to be the new social norm.
There’s so many huge positives to come out of this situation already. Look at the return of community to local areas and the volunteers that jumped at the chance to help the NHS. The response from the country to a tough challenge has been incredible and one of the best things you can now do is look after yourself and those around you. So what reason would you be able to give now not to do something? Most of us have enough money coming in with little to no work to do. We may have kids to educate now however we can include cooking , healthy diet and exercise as things to teach them. This is your chance to not only help with the Covid-19 emergency but also combat the growing problem that is obesity.
In a time like this it is so easy to take a defeatist approach. It’s hard to motivate yourself after more than likely working hard for many years only to see everything fall apart. But you still go on, people still care about you and you have a responsibility to them as well as yourself to make sure you are in the greatest position you can be to get through this. If there’s a time where you could turn your health around and make a significant change to yourself then it’s now. In the process of doing so you’re only going to be helping the NHS and anyone else that becomes infected, as well as set a great example to the young people who look up to you.
So what can you do? Well there are plenty of trainers putting free material online. There are premium courses that are running online, there’s support out there. You’ve just got to want to do it. If you’re having a hard time and maybe feel your discipline is starting to flag then turn to the more disciplined and ask for help. I got into training years ago because I cared about others well-being. Anyone who has worked with me knows I love to see people succeed and I will always be here to help anyone that needs it. Please look after each other by looking after yourself properly. Try to avoid drinking and try not to lose motivation. We will get through it all and if you look at this in the right way, you have a real opportunity to achieve something you’ve probably wanted to do for a long time. Get healthy! It’s time to step away from the average and be accountable for our own health. We really are in it together.
Lets get ourselves in a good place, physically and mentally, lets beat the virus and lets start to look at our health as something we control. The NHS needs help from us all and the best way we can help it is to get ourselves into the strongest health status we can achieve.
We can all do it if we want to.
Stay safe everyone.