Britain is becoming a nation of ‘fat idle people who will bankrupt the NHS’ says Tory Lord
- Former Tory minister Lord Blencathra says obesity is a lifestyle choice not illness
- Conservative peer said 2,500/2000 calorie target is too generous for today
- He hit out at the ‘gluttony and lazy lifestyles’ of an increasing number of Britons
Britain is becoming ‘a nation of fat, idle people who will bankrupt the NHS’, a former Tory minister has warned.
Lord Blencathra made his stark assessment as he argued obesity is not an illness but ‘a lifestyle choice’ during a debate on how to tackle the UK weight crisis.
The Conservative peer said the recommended daily calorie intakes – 2,500 for men and 2,000 for women – were ‘generations out of date’, based on when the UK population was much more active.
Britain is becoming ‘a nation of fat, idle people who will bankrupt the NHS’ according to Conservative peer and former minister Lord Blencathra. File image used
He said: ‘It is nonsensical to retain these grossly excessive calorie levels now. What’s worse is they are being exceeded.’
He added: ‘We seem to be waiting for a magic pill so we continue our gluttony and lazy lifestyle and hope that the NHS will fix it for us without having to change our behaviour one iota.’
‘If we scoff more calories than we burn off then we get fat and obese. Obesity is not an illness, it is a lifestyle choice.
‘We are creating a nation of fat, idle people who will bankrupt the NHS and we should have the courage to say so in blunt terms.’
He called for calorie intake guidance to be revised downwards ‘to recognise our indolent, lazy lifestyle’ and a public campaign ‘to get the whole nation exercising’.
Health minister Lord O’Shaughnessy said: ‘In the end it is about helping people to develop a healthy relationship with food.’
Lord Blencathra made his stark assessment as he argued obesity is not an illness but ‘a lifestyle choice’ during a debate on how to tackle the UK weight crisis. File image used
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