Junk Food Tax Will Help The Fight

Tight regulation and a tax on junk foods should be the focus of the Prime Minister’s new “war on fat”, a diet expert has said.

- Lucy Johnston

Dr Aseem Malhotra, a leading London cardiologist and a founder of the pressure group Action on Sugar, said that while exercise is good for health it does nothing to reduce weight and that the real public health crisis is linked to ultra-processed fast foods.

Dr Malhotra, author of the Pioppi Diet, which advocates a Mediterranean-style regime for health and fitness, said thousands of lives have been unnecessarily lost to the coronavirus pandemic because so many Britons carry excess weight.

Last week, it was reported that Boris Johnson is preparing a “much more interventionist” drive to tackle obesity as part of the fight against coronavirus.

As the Government calls for more people to walk, cycle and stay off public transport, Dr Malhotra said simply increasing exercise is not the solution. He believes the PM needs to put poor diet at the top of the agenda and make radical – and sometimes unpopular – changes to tackle the issue.