Protecting the national security of the country, economic and military, is the prime responsibility of the government. Without security a nation and it’s citizens cannot thrive. Judged against this basic standard this government has failed and the next will too. Neither party is willing to confront the reality that obesity is posing a grave threat to national security and is now a geopolitical risk.
Frontier Economics cost of obesity analysis calculates that in 2021, the costs to the NHS was £19 billion and to wider society through lower productivity £16 billion. The total, £35 billion, is a substantial sum. It implies that if this trajectory continues, the point will be reached where the UK workforce is so expensive and unproductive that our companies and therefore our country, cannot compete internationally.
This then raises the question of the readiness of our armed forces. We no longer live on a continent where peace is assured. A credible deterrent is now required to deter aggressors.
Nine EU states have compulsory conscription and Germany and Italy are considering introducing it. In Italy this is practically possible as the obesity rate is 11.7%. It is more of a challenge in Germany and the UK where the obesity rate is 19% and 25.9%. Add in those in the UK who are overweight and the figure increases by 37.9%.
When the US military was confronted with three-quarters of would-be recruits being ineligible due to their weight and of the remaining quarter, 60% being unable to meet the basic fitness requirement of running one mile, it adapted its training programme to get overweight recruits fit and healthy.
In view of the comparable obesity statistics and lifestyle choices, the UK military would, were mass mobilisation required, confront the same challenge. Men and women unable to perform the basic physical requirements of soldiers.
Where does this leave the UK at a time of rising geopolitical tension, in a context where the UK government is permitting UK weapons to be used to target Russian soldiers in Russian territory? Either the UK government is naïve and does not believe this will ever provoke any form of Russian retaliation or the country is in an economic and military precarious position.
If a large proportion of the population is too unhealthy to serve, the only effective form of deterrence is our nuclear capability. Investment in the Trident Nuclear Programme has been woefully inadequate under the Tories, and Labour have not committed to fully funding the upgrade.
If governments have no interest in the encouraging the population be fit and healthy or in maintaining an effective nuclear deterrence, where does this leave the UK in terms of the geopolitical hierarchy and its ability to exert influence and defend its interests internationally?
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