Lockdown gluttony is behind a large increase in the cases of gout, say health chiefs. The Express reports cases of the painful inflammatory arthritis have leapt by 20% in three years, with 234,000 admitted to hospital in 2021/22.
NHS Digital figures show it is linked to a significant rise in obesity, with more than one in four adults badly overweight. Experts say that the UK's eating habits have become so bad that the nation will be Europe's fattest within the next decade.
Experts have blamed a "Deliveroo culture" of working from home and eating more snacks, takeaways and junk foods during Covid. Gout causes sudden, severe joint pain, which often starts in the big toe.
