What is Boris Johnson's weight and what's his obesity plan?...

BORIS Johnson has said that he believes his weight was one of the major reasons that coronavirus hit him harder than the "thinnies" in his cabinet.

Since being discharged from St Thomas' hospital the PM has been determined to lose a few pounds and has allegedly dropped a stone in a month.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates Boris Johnson was once dubbed Britain's most famous cyclistCredit: Rex Features How much does Boris Johnson weigh and is he obese?

Aged 55, Boris Johnson weighed in at 17 stone and 7 lbs when he was admitted at St Thomas' with coronavirus.

At 5ft 9inches his BMI according to the NHS calculator, if we say he's exercising for up to 60 minutes a week, is 36.2, classing him as obese.

The NHS says that a man his age and height should be aiming to weigh between 8st 13lb and 12st 1lb.

If it's true that he's shed a stone since his April 12 discharge, his BMI will now be around 34.2.

Adults with a BMI over 30 are classed as obese.

Boris Johnson running in Oxfordshire in 2018Credit: Simon Jones - The Sun How has he tried to lose weight?

Boris has always been keen on cycling, hence the Boris bikes when he was mayor of London, however, he has always struggled with his weight.

He is believed to have been put off strenuous exercise recently because of issues with his knees following a health kick in 2013 when he was training for the first Ride London-Surrey 100, under what he joked as "Operation Chiselled Whippet".

He is also known to be a keen tennis player and a moderate drinker.

Boris Johnson is known to be fond of rugbyCredit: PA:Press Association

Since his brush with coronavirus he's been making a greater effort to bring his belly in and has been seen out jogging a lot more.

According to the NHS, in order to lose 2 lbs per week he needs to be cutting the calories to 2091 kcal per day.

His attitude has also changed - his new mantra is "don't be a fatty in your fifties" and he is now seeing the current focus on public health as an opportunity to “get Britain on its bike”.

Did Boris' weight land him in hospital with coronavirus?

Johnson is now convinced that his weight is the reason the virus hit him as hard as it did compared to other "thinnies" like Matt Hancock who recovered much more easily, The Times reported.

Research has found that being obese doubles the risk of needing hospital treatment for coronavirus.

It is also known to exacerbate other risk factors like diabetes and heart disease as well as putting excess weight on the diaphragm which makes breathing harder too.

At over 15 stone, Boris Johnson's BMI places him as obeseCredit: Reuters What is Boris' plan to tackle obesity?

Boris has pulled a U-turn on his approach to the 2018 sugar tax on soft drinks, which he was previously against.

He is now preparing a “much more interventionist” drive to tackle obesity as part of the fight against coronavirus after his spell in hospital with the disease.

While the full details are still in the making, he is said to be “obsessed” with encouraging more people to cycle to work and believes it is a good moment to “get Britain on its bike”.

About one in three British adults is clinically obese, classified as those with a body mass index (BMI) above 30.