Spectator Health

Obesity is not as straightforward as it might seem, and there are many, wideranging reasons behind it. In this View from 22 special, Spectator Health editor Max Pemberton discusses Britain's worsening obesity crisis – and what can be done about it – with Dr Sarah Jarvis, a GP and journalist, Dr Aaron Parkhurst, a medical anthropologist at University College London and Julia Manning, chief executive of 2020 Health. How much of a role does gender and ethnicity play in obesity? Does where you live affect your weight? Are socioeconomic factors important, and have modern lifestyles made the issue worse? And is there any correlation between lower income households and obesity? This podcast was sponsored by 2020 Health.

So ingrained is the NHS as part of British life that it’s hard to imagine it disappearing. But it can’t go on as it is: its budget is being squeezed while its costs are rising and people are demanding more from it than ever. We want ongoing treatment for chronic conditions; exemplary care for our growing elderly population; the latest drugs; the highest standards of care across the country; and the NHS's founding principles – the provision of universal care free at the point of use – to be adhered to. Earlier this year The Spectator held its first health lunch with a round-table discussion to coincide with preparations for the first issue of Spectator Health, a new quarterly magazine focusing on health and wellbeing.