A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand

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Drs Chris and Xand explore the science of exercise and the dangers of inactivity.

Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the science of exercise and the dangers of inactivity. Can Xand persuade Chris to do some exercise?

Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken investigate the science of exercise and the dangers of inactivity.

Is modern exercise a wellness cult? Or is it a vital cure for a world that's struggling with ill health and stuck on the sofa? Most of us might like to get a bit fitter, but how easy is it to actually start exercising and give up sedentary habits? 

In this series Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken examine exercise and how best to do it. How much should we be doing? How does it help our bodies? And how does our surrounding environment stand in the way of us getting fitter? Chris is challenged to examine his scepticism towards exercise. Similarly, Xand is asked to look at his new-found exercise evangelism and see what he is really running from. 

Recently Xand has discovered the joys of physical activity. He's running, cycling, heading to the gym and playing ping pong like never before. It's been a real transformation and a way to keep on top of things after years of unhealthy living. 

His twin brother Chris, on the other hand, is really feeling the aches and pains of middle age. With a busy job and a young family, he has precious little spare time for exercise. After a very active period in his 20s and 30s, Chris is now embracing his 'Dad bod' and sliding into a creaky middle age. Xand wants to help him turn things around. Can he do it?

Introducing A Thorough Examination

BBC Radio 4 LW

A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand: Series 1: Addicted to Food: S1. Ep 6 - Building an ultra processed world

S1. Ep 6 - Building an ultra processed world

Series 1: Addicted to Food

BBC Radio 4 - A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand, Series 1: Addicted to Food, S1. Ep 6 - Building an ultra processed world

Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to get his twin, Xand, to quit ultra-processed food.

Chris and Xand speak to Marion Nestle about the public health and environmental issues caused by Ultra Processed Food.

Chris and Xand are doctors, scientists and identical twins. Well, not quite identical. Xand is 20kg heavier, clinically obese, and has a Covid induced heart condition. 

Chris believes that the reason Xand is overweight is the same reason that most of us in the UK are overweight - Ultra Processed Food or UPF. It’s the main thing that we now eat and feed to our children, but most of us have never heard of it. It’s addictive, highly profitable and the main cause of the global obesity pandemic. It’s destroying our bodies, our brains and the environment. 

In this series, recorded during the first coronavirus lockdown of 2020, Chris wants to help his brother quit UPF and get his health back. So, he has a plan. In an attempt to turn Xand's life around, Chris persuades his brother to eat a diet comprising 80% Ultra-processed food while learning about every aspect of it. By doing this, Chris tests two theories - that Xand is addicted to UPF, and that eating more of the stuff while learning about it, will help him quit.  
 
Chris believes that the science shows UPF is addictive and harmful to the body, not least by driving excess consumption and weight gain. By speaking with the world’s leading experts on obesity and nutrition, Xand will learn what UPF is made of, how it’s produced, whether it’s addictive, what it does to the human brain and body and how it is the number one force driving global obesity. 

In episode 6 - Building an ultra processed world – finishing the experiment, Xand explains that he has had a ‘conversion experience’. Recognising the dangers of UPF, not only to his own health and wellbeing, but to the health and wellbeing of society, he concludes that he no longer has any desire to eat UPF. 

Chris and Xand talk to the American Academic and former professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, Marion Nestle, who explains how UPF is not just a public health issue, it's an environmental disaster. Marion considers and recommends what needs to be done to combat the rocketing levels of obesity – especially in children - while ensuring sustainable healthy food production. 

Presented by Drs Chris and Xand Van Tulleken 
Produced by Hester Cant
Executive Producers Philly Beaumont and Jo Rowntree
A Loftus Media and van Tulleken Brothers Ltd production for BBC Radio 4

A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand: Series 1: Addicted to Food

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Chris van Tulleken is on a mission to get his twin Xand to quit ultra-processed food.

Chris and Xand van Tulleken are doctors, scientists and identical twins - except that Xand is clinically obese. Now Chris is on a mission to get Xand to quit ultra-processed food.

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A Thorough Examination with Drs Chris and Xand

Series 1: Addicted to Food

S1. Ep 6 - Building an ultra processed world

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