Original version

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Radio

World Service Radio

The Food Chain

Factual: Food & Drink

Examining what it takes to put food on your plate

The Food Chain examines the business, science and cultural significance of food, and what it takes to put food on your plate.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

The Food Chain: Coronavirus: Obesity's defining moment?

Magazines & Reviews

Coronavirus: Obesity's defining moment?

24/09/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - The Food Chain, Coronavirus: Obesity's defining moment?

Could the pandemic make the world tackle its obesity problem?

Emily Thomas asks whether the coronavirus pandemic will turn out to be the defining moment in the fight against obesity. Will we see governments take radical action, now that the pandemic has turned the spotlight on this growing global problem? And why hasn’t the pandemic made most of us eat more healthily?

Even experts have been surprised by just how strong an impact obesity has been found to have on the risks of coronavirus. We hear from Professor Barry Popkin, of the University of North Carolina, who led a major study into the relationship between the two. He tells us he’s worried that food companies are using the pandemic to push ultra processed food on low-income populations. 

Professor Corinna Hawkes, of City, University of London, explains how obesity policy became personal in the UK after Boris Johnson caught the virus.

And Jacqueline Bowman-Busato, Policy Lead for the European Association for the Study of Obesity,  tells us how her own experience of living with obesity has led her to lobby for changes in how obesity is viewed and treated. She says the pandemic has provided a much needed wake up call on a neglected and misunderstood public health issue.

If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Picture: Fat cells, Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Food Chain

Coronavirus: Obesity's defining moment?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service

About BBC World Service