Obesity crisis: doctors demand soft drinks tax and healthier hospital food

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges puts forward 10-point action plan to help end UK's status as 'fat man of Europe'

• Obesity fightback begins in Tamworth, fat capital of Britain
• UK obesity crisis needs a bold prescription from doctors
• Food poverty 'puts UK's human rights obligations in danger'
• Supersize v undersize: food portions and obesity
• Comment: There's no need for this obesity epidemic hysteria
• Food retailers 'underestimating calorie content of some foods
  '

Obesity crisis: doctors demand soft drinks tax and healthier hospital food

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges puts forward 10-point action plan to help end UK's status as 'fat man of Europe'

• Obesity fightback begins in Tamworth, fat capital of Britain
• UK obesity crisis needs a bold prescription from doctors
• Food poverty 'puts UK's human rights obligations in danger'
• Supersize v undersize: food portions and obesity
• Comment: There's no need for this obesity epidemic hysteria
• Food retailers 'underestimating calorie content of some foods
  '

On our way out: Only a third of Britons now wish to stay in the EU

BRITONS are more than ever turning away from the EU with just one in three claiming they would vote to stay in the bloc, according to a poll.
Continue reading

On our way out: Only a third of Britons now wish to stay in the EU

BRITONS are more than ever turning away from the EU with just one in three claiming they would vote to stay in the bloc, according to a poll.
Continue reading

How to express shock in English

It is sometimes difficult to say how you feel in unexpected situations, such as natural disasters, especially when you feel sad. Here's a list of some common expressions to help you express shock and disbelief.

Shock

I was shocked to hear…
The news came as a complete shock.
We're all in complete shock.
Everyone's reeling from the shock of…
It happened out of the blue.
Who could have predicted it?
I (just) can't get over ….
We were completely taken aback by…
I was just stunned by…

Disbelief

I just can't believe…
It's unbelievable.
I / You just can't imagine…
Words can't describe… (how I feel about / the terrible devastation etc)
There's no way it could have happened.

Saying how bad something is

It's so awful.
It's terrible / What terrible news.
It's a tragedy.
It's a catastrophe (pronounced "ca – tas – tra – fee" with the stress on "-tas")
This is the worst thing that could have happened.

The after effects

Here are some words and phrases that we often use to talk about the immediate or long-term effects of a natural disaster or other sad event.

to come to terms with = to accept: "It will take us a few months to come to terms with what's happened."

to assess the damage = to find out the extent of the damage: "Surveyors are assessing the damage done to buildings."

to provide emergency relief / emergency assistance: "International organisations are providing emergency relief."

to give moral support = to sympathise with the victims: "We can only give them our moral support."

to learn the lessons = to learn from something: "We hope the government will learn the lessons from the earthquake and spend more money on research."

to be better prepared: "Monitoring will help us be better prepared in the future."

See also Talking about the news in English for more useful phrases for commenting on news stories.

How to express shock in English

It is sometimes difficult to say how you feel in unexpected situations, such as natural disasters, especially when you feel sad. Here's a list of some common expressions to help you express shock and disbelief.

Shock

I was shocked to hear…
The news came as a complete shock.
We're all in complete shock.
Everyone's reeling from the shock of…
It happened out of the blue.
Who could have predicted it?
I (just) can't get over ….
We were completely taken aback by…
I was just stunned by…

Disbelief

I just can't believe…
It's unbelievable.
I / You just can't imagine…
Words can't describe… (how I feel about / the terrible devastation etc)
There's no way it could have happened.

Saying how bad something is

It's so awful.
It's terrible / What terrible news.
It's a tragedy.
It's a catastrophe (pronounced "ca – tas – tra – fee" with the stress on "-tas")
This is the worst thing that could have happened.

The after effects

Here are some words and phrases that we often use to talk about the immediate or long-term effects of a natural disaster or other sad event.

to come to terms with = to accept: "It will take us a few months to come to terms with what's happened."

to assess the damage = to find out the extent of the damage: "Surveyors are assessing the damage done to buildings."

to provide emergency relief / emergency assistance: "International organisations are providing emergency relief."

to give moral support = to sympathise with the victims: "We can only give them our moral support."

to learn the lessons = to learn from something: "We hope the government will learn the lessons from the earthquake and spend more money on research."

to be better prepared: "Monitoring will help us be better prepared in the future."

See also Talking about the news in English for more useful phrases for commenting on news stories.

Word of the Day: wreck

If something is badly damaged, it might be a wreck. This word is usually used as a noun or as a verb.

• My car is a wreck, but it still runs.
• Tony drives a wreck to work.

A wreck can also be a person who is physically or emotionally in bad condition:

• What happened to you? You look like a wreck.
• Tanya was a nervous wreck as she waited to see her test results.

In the next set of sentences, the word "wreck" is a verb:

• Tigist wrecked her car. She has to get it fixed.
• Jorge wrecked his back playing football. He has to see a doctor.
• The girl is wrecking her reputation by hanging out with drug addicts.

The words "wrecked" and "wrecking" can be used as adjectives:

• Wrecked buildings are scattered throughout the city of Detroit.
• A wrecking ball knocked down the house so that a new one could be built.