"Restaurants will have to tell the government what their customers order under plans drawn up by Labour to tackle Britain’s obesity epidemic...."

"Under the proposals outlined by Wes Streeting, the health secretary, restaurants employing more than 250 workers are expected to report the average number of calories that diners consume. The government will then set targets to 'increase the healthiness of sales.'... Streeting said:'“Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year, triple the budget for ambulance services. Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable. The good news is that it only takes a small change to make a big difference. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day — the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink — obesity would be halved.'"

From "Restaurants to report diners’ calorie counts in obesity drive/The Department of Health says the data will be used to set targets and increase the ‘healthiness of sales’ — but the industry says it was ‘totally blindsided'" (London Times).

"To assess green spaces, the researchers used satellite imaging and applied a widely accepted measure of quantifying vegetation..."

"[T]hey also identified major parks near the participants’ homes. While that helped identify the location and quantity of plant life, the approach does not provide details about the type — for example, whether the area is a golf course or a forested nature trail — or quality of green space. 'We have this vegetation data, but it tells us very little about what the active ingredients in nature are that influence health....' 'Because we don’t know what type of green space it is, I think for cities, they don’t know is it sufficient just to plant a bunch of street trees?'... The study also left other unanswered questions, such as why the rate of biological aging did not appear to be the same across race, gender and socioeconomic status. For example, the researchers observed Black people who had more access to green space were only about 1 year younger in biological age compared to the study’s average 2.5 years. Experts said more studies are needed to pinpoint how people might benefit from greenery and what other social determinants that could be involved...."

From "Living near green spaces could add 2.5 years to your life, new research finds" (WaPo).

"Weathering is associated with accelerated aging of the body and is thought to be one of the reasons that Black Americans develop certain chronic medical conditions..."

"... at much younger ages than their White counterparts. Studies have also found that the average Black American, compared with their White peers, has a much higher 'allostatic load,' which is a measurement for lifelong cumulative stress on the body. Using data from a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey collected from 1999 to 2002, Geronimus found that when measuring the allostatic load of Americans, the score 'for Black Americans was roughly comparable to that for Whites who were 10 years older.'...  Removing or lowering age cutoffs for Black Americans could go a long way toward increasing access to one of the most impacted communities and accounting for structural racism’s toll on Black lives."

 From "Opinion: Black Americans should face lower age cutoffs to qualify for a vaccine" (WaPo). 

The authors, Oni Blackstock and Uché Blackstock, are physicians. They define "weathering" as the "physiologic effect of these persistent social and environmental stressors" and relate it to the term "John Henryism."

The comments at WaPo are calling the column "racist" and "insane."

Unfit.

"A tweet Saturday from CrossFit founder Greg Glassman that appeared to make light of both the death of George Floyd and the novel coronavirus pandemic resulted in a widespread backlash within the CrossFit community. On Sunday, Reebok announced it was ending its corporate partnership with the popular fitness company, and after some gyms said they were cutting ties to the CrossFit brand, and others said they’re considering doing so, Glassman issued an apology. Glassman was responding Saturday to a tweet posted by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in which the research center declared, 'Racism is a public health issue.' 'It’s FLOYD-19,' replied Glassman, 63. That sparked outrage among some owners of CrossFit gyms, or 'boxes,' as they’re called, that pay fees of several thousands of dollars annually to license the brand."

From "CrossFit founder jokes about George Floyd as Reebok, gyms drop the brand" (WaPo).

If what you're selling is branding, you'd better maintain that product. You're asking other people to put your reputation on themselves! You're not a solo, roving comedian. Even if it had been a great joke — which it wasn't — Glassman was an idiot to tweet it.

“The Trump administration on Thursday released new requirements for states to report coronavirus data based on race, ethnicity, age and sex...”

“... of individuals tested for the virus, in an effort to respond to demands from lawmakers for a better picture of the pandemic.... The new guidelines came as Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, faced a barrage of questions from House lawmakers at a health subcommittee hearing about his agency’s often halting response to the pandemic, and what some members of Congress said was its failure to anticipate the pandemic’s effect on black and Hispanic communities.“

The NYT reports.

How can this work in a restaurant? It sounds like a recommendation of invidious discrimination.

In the NYT: "As restrictions across the country on restaurants and bars ease, the C.D.C. recommends owners give workers at a higher risk of getting sick a job that limits the person’s interaction with customers."

Here's the way it's worded in the CDC document:

Considerations for Restaurants and Bars...

Protections for Employees at Higher Risk for Severe Illness from COVID-19

• Offer options for employees at higher risk for severe illness (including older adults and people of all ages with certain underlying medical conditions) that limits their exposure risk (e.g., modified job responsibilities such as managing inventory rather than working as a cashier, or managing administrative needs through telework).
• Consistent with applicable law, develop policies to protect the privacy of persons at higher risk for severe illness in accordance with applicable privacy and confidentiality laws and regulations.

The link on "higher risk for severe illness" goes to another document. There we see the reference to old people — "People 65 years and older" — and fat people — "People with severe obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher)." There's no reference to race, but health conditions are named: "chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma... serious heart conditions... immunocompromised... diabetes... chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis... liver disease."

I'm not offering legal advice, but just asking a question: Can restaurant owners, who are struggling to make their business profitable again, withhold jobs from people who fall in the "higher risk" category? Clearly, we're talking about people who are protected by laws against age discrimination and disability discrimination. Less clearly, we're talking about discriminating against black people. And if you do bring back employees who'd previously worked in the front of the restaurant, interacting with customers, how can you shunt them to the back, away from the tips?

ADDED: Why am I talking about race? "Nationally, the new age-adjusted analysis shows, black people are more than 3.5 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white people, and Latino people are nearly twice as likely to die of the virus as white people, the researchers report" (Yale News).

IN THE COMMENTS: Freeman Hunt said:

"You're fat. Go clean the freezer."

"Thank you for caring about me."

"US chain McDonald's has apologised after a sign telling black people they were banned from entering a branch in southern China prompted outrage online..."

"... following reports of discriminatory treatment towards Africans in the city. Tensions have flared between police and Africans in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou after local officials announced a cluster of COVID-19 cases in a neighbourhood with a large migrant population. As the row escalated, posts widely shared online showed a sign at fast food chain McDonald's saying black people were not allowed to enter the restaurant...."

France24 reports.

"In fact, as of April 8, all 12 COVID-19 deaths in the City of St. Louis were African Americans."

Wrote Fredrick Echols, director of the City of St. Louis Department of Health, Newsweek reports.

He also wrote: "We are learning more about the coronavirus every day, but let me tell you this in no uncertain terms: It doesn't care if you are black, brown, white, red, yellow or some other shade... The idea that African Americans are somehow resistant to it is both untrue and dangerous to the health of our community."

According to Newsweek, there's a belief out there that "African Americans may be more resistant, if not immune, to coronavirus because of their higher levels of melanin." I'm not surprised to see that, because the disease originated in China and was slow to reach Africa, and people were speculating that racial differences mattered. As time has passed, it seems that the black population in the U.S. is more vulnerable — because other health problems. Anthony Fauci listed the conditions that disproportionately afflict African Americans: "diabetes, hypertension, obesity and asthma."

"People can’t empathize with what it truly means to be poor in this country, to live in a too-small space with too many people..."

"... to not have enough money to buy food for a long duration or anywhere to store it if they did. People don’t know what it’s like to live in a food desert where fresh fruit and vegetables are unavailable and nutrient-deficient junk food is cheap and exists in abundance. People are quick to criticize these people for crowding into local fast food restaurants to grab something to eat. Not everyone can afford to order GrubHub or FreshDirect. Furthermore, in a nation where too many black people have been made to feel that their lives are constantly under threat, the existence of yet another produces less of a panic. The ability to panic becomes a privilege existing among those who rarely have to do it. I wholeheartedly encourage everyone who can to stay home, but I’m also aware enough to know that not everyone can or will, and that it is not simply a pathological disregard for the common good. If you are sheltering in place in an ivory tower, or even a comfortable cul-de-sac or a smartly well-appointed apartment, and your greatest concern is boredom and leftover food, please stop scolding those scratching to survive."

From "Social Distancing Is a Privilege/The idea that this virus is an equal-opportunity killer must itself be killed" by Charles M. Blow (NYT). Blow is discussing the WBEZ article — "In Chicago, 70% of COVID-19 Deaths Are Black" — that were were talking about here, last night.

"As of Saturday, 107 of Cook County’s 183 deaths from COVID-19 were black. In Chicago, 61 of the 86 recorded deaths – or 70% – were black residents."

"Blacks make up 29% of Chicago’s population. The majority of the black COVID-19 patients who died had underlying health conditions including respiratory problems and diabetes. Eighty-one percent of them had hypertension, or high blood pressure, diabetes or both.... 'It’s disturbing and upsetting, but not surprising,' said Linda Rae Murray, health policy professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 'This is just a reflection of the facts that we already know about these pandemics. People who are vulnerable will die quicker and won’t have as many resources.'"

WBEZ reports.