Burden of obesity on the NHS is enormous but my time in the jungle has taught me how we can treat it
ANOTHER year, another promise that the NHS is being radically reformed to slash waiting lists.
Given that they are 40 per cent longer in Wales than England and have been under a Labour-run government there for 25 years, let’s not hold our breath.
Besides, the PM’s promise to make “better use” of the private sector to clear waiting times sounds like a cheap sticking plaster on a gaping wound.
Primarily, the social care system needs radical reform if the NHS is to be freed of the burden of care for the elderly and other vulnerable sections of society who have seen outpatient services cut to the bone.
And what of the issues crippling the NHS that are entirely avoidable?
The number of obese patients receiving hospital treatment has quadrupled in the past decade — meaning the expense of extra large, reinforced beds, lifting pullies, more staff to assist etc.
And all for something that — aside from a few rare cases — is related to our increasingly sedentary lifestyle and an over-reliance on processed foods.
We are increasingly becoming a nation of fatties and the cost to the taxpayer is, er, enormous.
My recent stint in the I’m A Celebrity jungle taught me that I eat far more than I actually need thanks to the many treats and temptations on offer in the outside word.
We spent several days just eating rice and beans and, although it tasted like congealed wallpaper paste, it gave us the protein and carbs we needed to keep going and few of us felt hungry.
And when we won stars, the prize was fresh vegetables and a small portion of fish or meat, so nothing processed.
This basic diet, together with some of the physically demanding chores, meant that I dropped 10lbs in two weeks.
In other words, the combo of a healthy, unadulterated diet and exercise works.
So, while the rising popularity of weight loss injections such as Ozempic and Mounjaro is an excellent, quick fix way to kick-start the habit of eating less, many have reported that the weight piles back on as soon as you stop using them.
Quick fix solutions won’t work for the NHS’s malaise either.
Where possible, we need to spend money on vital services aimed at keeping people out of hospital in the first place — and that means tackling the causes of obesity, drink and drug addictions and the downward spiral in youth mental health.
ELON’S A TOUCH TETCHY
REMEMBER British diver Vernon Unsworth, one of the men who helped save the lives of the 12 boys trapped in a Thai cave in 2018?
When Elon Musk publicly offered a mini-submarine, Unsworth branded it as a “PR stunt” and added that the Tesla billionaire could stick it “where it hurts”.
Musk retaliated by referring to him as a “pedo guy”.
It went to court and, after Musk argued that in his home country of South Africa the phrase was synonymous with a “creepy old man”, the jury ruled in his favour.
But the online spat perhaps highlights Musk’s thin skin when someone criticises him.
Now it’s the turn of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage who, after recently hailing Musk a “hero”, publicly disagreed with him over his support for jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Musk responded by posting to his 211million followers on X/Twitter: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
Still, at least he didn’t call him a “pedo”.
URFAN SHARIF, the evil excuse for a “father” who inflicted unspeakable horrors on his daughter Sara, who died from her injuries, has reportedly been attacked in prison.
Two wrongs don’t make a right and one would never condone
violence, but even so – it’s hard to feel a shred of sympathy for him.
MEG’S PIPPED TO THE POST
JUST when we thought it was safe, Meghan Markle is invading our privacy once again.
This time she’s flogging us the idea that she’s a modern-day Martha Stewart who can help transform our homes/lives by “taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it”.
No, she’s not talking about husband Harry.
She’s referring to, among other things, flower arrangements for your table, putting mint leaves on sponge cake (as you do) and making your own honey.
It’s all part and parcel of her Netflix eight- parter, With Love, Meghan, which invites us into the world of this deeply private individual so we can learn the “pursuit of joy”.
Sigh.
Good luck to her, but the notion that the world is waiting with bated breath for her tips on how to live their lives is, quite frankly, home-baked apple pie in the sky.
It has the whiff of an ill-fated project from 2012 when a cookbook called Celebrate bestowed such gems as how to make a cup of tea or roast a chicken, and reminded us to always serve water to our dinner guests.
The author?
Step forward Pippa Middleton whose fingers (and ears) were burned by the venture that she later admitted was timed badly.
Sage advice. With Love, Pippa.
EVERY Golden Globe winner was reportedly handed a goody bag containing £800,000 worth of gifts.
Gulp.
Given Hollywood’s fondness for preaching generosity to those less fortunate, surely a less vulgar gesture might be an equally sizeable donation to a charity of the winner’s choice?
TATTOO BAD . . .
AN Iraqi asylum seeker got a tattoo reading “Saddam Hussein was much better than the current militia”, then claimed it would put him at risk of danger if he was sent back there.
He also claims he has converted to Christianity.
But a Home Office tribunal has rejected both claims.
Good to know that common sense can triumph but, given the expense of the tribunal, the inevitable appeal, the cost of his lawyers –possibly funded by legal aid – and the eventual expense of removing him, it doesn’t exactly feel like a win for the taxpayer.
RUMOURS that Kyle Walker and his wife Annie are now working on their marriage after she filed for divorce have been strengthened by the news that they spent Christmas together with their kids.
And this photo of them all indulging in the cutesy tradition of posing in matching PJs.
Meanwhile, Lauryn Goodman, the woman Kyle cheated on Annie with, has claimed that his two children by her received diddly squat under the tree from their biological father.
Granted, he’s paying sizeable maintenance for their upkeep.
But even a small gift would indicate an important emotional connection towards the children who, through no fault of their own, are caught up in this mess of Kyle’s making.
Perhaps he should take a leaf out of Sir Rod Stewart’s book.
Rod, whose past philandering left him “sickened with shame”, is now a changed man and happily married to Penny Lancaster.
Set to celebrate his 80th birthday on Friday, he posed in a Celtic kit with, among others, Penny and seven of his eight children from various relationships.
Showing that even if you were once a lousy husband, you can still be a good father.