Covid-19: Obese and Overweight People Debate

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Department: Department of Health and Social Care

Covid-19: Obese and Overweight People

Baroness Brinton Excerpts
Thursday 4th June 2020

(4 years, 6 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Brinton Portrait Baroness Brinton (LD)
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Section 8.3 of yesterday’s PHE review on disparities and Covid demonstrated very clearly that Covid, obesity, hypertension and diabetes type 2 were all severely raised for the BME community. Given that the Minister said in the House yesterday that this review was just the first step in understanding Covid in our BME communities, what urgent guidance is going to our primary care sector to advise our BME communities on what they need to do?

Lord Bethell Portrait Lord Bethell
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The noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, is entirely right. The review has done an excellent job of laying a path for greater understanding of the disease and is informing the PHE response. GPs already have a very clear work plan for advising BME communities on the threat of diabetes, in particular, and on obesity and healthy living for all circumstances. This will be redoubled during the epidemic that we are experiencing.