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HEALTH

Italians put on 2kg on average during lockdown, says survey

Despite being famously appearance-conscious, even Italians have piled on the pounds during the coronavirus lockdown, a survey showed.

Published: 8 May 2020 18:03 CEST
Italians put on 2kg on average during lockdown, says survey
The amount of food on Italian tables increased further by 18 percent during lockdown. Photo: AFP

Italians put on an average two kilos each during the nation's coronavirus lockdown, according to a study by Italian agricultural group Coldiretti.

Being stuck at home and unable to take their usual exercise, coupled with a boom in the purchase of sugary and fatty comfort foods filled with sugar, has bloated the average Italian, Coldiretti said.

If you thought Italians ate well already, it may come as a surprise to hear that the amount of food on Italian tables increased further by 18 percent during the lockdown, it said.

Sales of desserts rose by 13 percent and ready meals by 24 percent during quarantine, Coldiretti found.

READ ALSO: Flour, mozzarella, and hair dye: Here's what Italians are buying under lockdown

People across Italy have now started trying to shed that excess baggage after the ban on outdoor exercise was lifted on Monday.

They have been allowed to jog, walk and take exercise alone in parks and along seafronts in phase two of the coronavirus lockdown.

Some 47 percent of Italians said losing weight is nw one of their priorities, according to the Ixè polling firm, which says Italians have turned to diets and exercise to get back in shape.

But not everyone is feeling the strain or embarking on a healthy-eating programme just yet, judging by the record lines outside McDonald's outlets across the country when they reopened for takeaway on Monday.

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HEALTH

Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

As Italy’s new school year began, masks and hand sanitiser were distributed in schools and staff were asked to prevent gatherings to help stem an increase in Covid infections.

Published: 11 September 2023 12:48 CEST
Italy’s schools warned to ‘avoid gatherings’ as Covid cases rise

Pupils returned to school in many parts of Italy on Monday and authorities said they were distributing masks and hand sanitiser amid a post-summer increase in the number of recorded cases of Covid–19.

“The advice coming from principals, teachers and janitors is to avoid gatherings of students, especially in these first days of school,” Mario Rusconi, head of Italy’s Principals’ Association, told Rai news on Monday.

He added that local authorities in many areas were distributing masks and hand sanitizer to schools who had requested them.

“The use of personal protective equipment is recommended for teachers and students who are vulnerable,” he said, confirming that “use is not mandatory.”

A previous requirement for students to wear masks in the classroom was scrapped at the beginning of the last academic year.

Walter Ricciardi, former president of the Higher Health Institute (ISS), told Italy’s La Stampa newspaper on Monday that the return to school brings the risk of increased Covid infections.

Ricciardi described the health ministry’s current guidelines for schools as “insufficient” and said they were “based on politics rather than scientific criteria.”

READ ALSO:

Recorded cases of Covid have increased in most Italian regions over the past three weeks, along with rates of hospitalisation and admittance to intensive care, as much of the country returns to school and work following the summer holidays.

Altogether, Italy recorded 21,309 new cases in the last week, an increase of 44 percent compared to the 14,863 seen the week before.

While the World Health Organisation said in May that Covid was no longer a “global health emergency,” and doctors say currently circulating strains of the virus in Italy are not a cause for alarm, there are concerns about the impact on elderly and clinically vulnerable people with Italy’s autumn Covid booster campaign yet to begin.

“We have new variants that we are monitoring but none seem more worrying than usual,” stated Fabrizio Maggi, director of the Virology and Biosafety Laboratories Unit of the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome

He said “vaccination coverage and hybrid immunity can only translate into a milder disease in young and healthy people,” but added that “vaccinating the elderly and vulnerable continues to be important.”

Updated vaccines protecting against both flu and Covid are expected to arrive in Italy at the beginning of October, and the vaccination campaign will begin at the end of October, Rai reported.

Amid the increase in new cases, Italy’s health ministry last week issued a circular mandating Covid testing on arrival at hospital for patients with symptoms.

Find more information about Italy’s current Covid-19 situation and vaccination campaign on the Italian health ministry’s website (available in English).

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