Boris Johnson’s cycling prescription policy is typical shallow politics – we need better than this

Unless the government tackles the broader societal and infrastructure changes needed, obesity will remain a major problem

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Boris Johnson has a knack of prompting eye catching headlines, his latest encourages us to get on our bikes to lose weight. A teaser ahead of the launch of the government’s obesity strategy.

Little doubt we have a problem with obesity in the UK, we’ve known that for some time, but coronavirus highlighted yet another health risk of being overweight. The risks of serious illness or even death from Covid-19 increase significantly as weight is increased according to research. So, losing some weight, even if not enough for an ideal body mass index, could help.

Paradoxically, lockdown and all the stress associated with coronavirus has seen many of us pile on, rather than shed, weight. So, it makes sense to have something more than a headline to tackle our bulging national waistline.

The problem with getting GPs to prescribe cycling is that you obviously need a bike and crucially somewhere safe to use it. Otherwise the risk of a cycling-related injury would be too much of a deterrent. Many urban and rural areas lack the infrastructure such as cycle lanes to make this activity as truly safe. Unlike countries like the Netherlands we haven’t invested or planned routes with cyclists in mind, we have been very motorist centric.

Rarely do public health ambitions like the ones Johnson has expressed come about without significant investment, just telling people to get on their bikes isn’t enough. The economic case for tackling obesity is clear, as it costs the NHS £6bn annually. Investing even a fraction of that would create national cycle routes that would entice more of us onto our bikes. The cost savings wouldn’t take long to materialise if we were able to reverse the rising type two diabetes rate for example.

This is not a complicated area of science or neither are the solutions that are needed. Cause and effect in relation to obesity are well known. Despite this the other aspect the government repeatedly ignores is that of collective rather than individual responsibility. Yet again ministers are talking about the need for personal responsibility which is a convenient way of distracting attention from the wider issues that need to be fixed.

Exercise and diet require not just money but motivation, energy and belief in yourself. That’s a tough ask when you are facing the possible destabilising issues of unemployment, lack of stable housing or you are on a survival income. Where you live often dictates the access you have to an affordable and healthy diet, in some areas fast food is all there is.

It is no coincidence that as employment has become more precarious, social security support reduced and housing harder to secure that rates of obesity have increased in tandem. There is a clear correlation between rising inequality and expanding waistlines. Yet again it is those with resources financial or otherwise that can maintain a diet and have time to exercise and so avoid significant weight gain.

Blaming individuals for a lack of personal responsibility is a cheap, unproven political shot and wouldn’t be aired if the government was truly following the science.

Unless we are all willing to support investment in wider societal issues – like a social care safety net that allows people to eat healthily, provide decent stable housing – we are destined to spend more on treating the outcomes of obesity than the root causes.