Doc names largest threats Brits ought to fear about – they are not what you assume

A top doctor has told of the three biggest issues facing Brits right now – and none of them involved getting floored by a deadly virus.

For as long as most of us care to remember, Brits have been getting “ominous warnings” about various things set to “kill” us all off. And while none of them actually have yet, despite trying their best to do so, the Daily Star has been pondering what we really should be worried about.

And now, having reached out to Dr Gareth Nye, it appears that viruses are the least of our worries. The senior lecturer of Anatomy and Physiology and Endocrinology told us that there are three main issues to worry about – obesity, conspiracy theories, and mental health and wellbeing.

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He said, when discussing the first issue: “In 2022 to 2023, 69% of men and 59% of women where at least overweight with around 26% of the population being in the obese category. What’s more alarming is that 25% of children aged 10 or 11 are obese. Reportedly there are also over 1600 children under the age of 18 living with type 2 diabetes.

“Being overweight and obese has a massive impact on the body and at the very least is the second most common, preventable cause of cancers as well as its links to heart disease and strokes. As we see increases in younger people being overweight, the burden of disease is going to increase with it and we may see younger and younger people having heart attacks and strokes.

‌”My fear is that with the attention and use of Ozempic and other obesity drugs, people will see them as a quick fix to lose weight and that there is no consequence of having a poor lifestyle and diet – Ozempic is not without its issues and should only be used as a last resort in patients who are severely obese (but) with the surge of private purchases and usages we may see significant endocrine diseases increasing in their prevalence.”

Dr Nye went on to explain how conspiracy theories – or misinformation as he classes it – specifically surrounding vaccines and even household items like sun cream could be extremely dangerous.

Blaming social media – like pretty much everyone does – he pointed to a stat that shows 60% of videos from people who are not medical influencers contain inaccurate information, with many of the accounts having more than 10k followers.

He explained: “This has led to claims that sun cream is highly dangerous and leads to the development of cancers, causing a large number of people to forgo the protection and potentially develop cancer. This came about from a small scale study and changes in legislation in the US, but the chemicals in question aren’t used in sun cream products anymore so there’s no risk.

‌”This was particularly prevalent during the pandemic and has led to widespread mistrust of vaccines, leading to our children picking up diseases that have been avoided for a very long time.”

And lastly, Dr Nye urged everyone to work “closely” on their mental health, but warned that a lack of funding means the situation where suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK won’t “improve quickly”.

“The cost of living crisis is having a huge impact on pockets but also, we are seeing a change in diet away from more nutritious foods, lower rates of social activities and exercises and more time spent worrying. Healthcare providers are overwhelmed and underfunded and many people have taken on caring responsibilities to fill the gap and simply have no were to turn,” he said.

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