‘Life is short, eat the chocolate’: NHS chief who urged Brits not to eat a whole Easter egg in one go faces backlash… from fellow medics!

Doctors and dentists today fired back at NHS advice that urged Brits to scale back their Easter egg consumption.

NHS medical director Dr Andrew Kelso recommended the public ‘resist the urge to eat a whole egg in one go’.

Writing in a blog, he said Brits should do ‘all they can to look after themselves’ when practices are shut from Good Friday to Easter Monday. Sugar and calories lurking in the sweet treats ‘doesn’t do our bodies any good’, he said. 

Dr Andrew Kelso, an NHS medical director, who has been labelled a ‘killjoy’ by critics, urged the public to avoid scoffing whole Easter eggs in one go and to cut back on cakes and biscuits

But fellow medics responded by saying life is too ‘short’ to heed Dr Kelso’s advice. 

Critical care and anesthetics consultant @madbusymum wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: ‘I’m an intensive care doctor. Life is short. Eat the Easter egg.’

Intensive care nurse Sue Crocombe replied: ‘I totally agree.’

Oxford-based palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke said: ‘I’m a palliative care doctor. What she said.’

Even dentists — who always urge people to limit their sugar — took issue with Dr Kelso’s advice.

Part-time dentist Wendy Thompson, a dental lecturer at Manchester University, said: ‘I’m a dentist… Eat the Easter egg all at once!’

Meanwhile, Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: ‘This infantilising advice from a killjoy NHS mandarin wouldn’t grate quite so much if it wasn’t part of a broader warning to the public telling us not to get our hopes up about receiving healthcare over the bank holiday weekend.

‘The real advice is to get ill between Monday to Friday during working hours and not on bank holidays.

In retaliation to the ‘infantising’ advice, critical care and anesthetics consultant @madbusymum wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, ‘I’m an intensive care doctor. Life is short. Eat the Easter egg’

Intensive care nurse Sue Crocombe replied and said she ‘totally agrees’ that it’s okay to eat a whole egg this easter

Even dentists agree it’s fine to enjoy chocolate at Easter. Wendy Thompson a dentist and lecturer at Manchester University endorsed eating chocolate 

The NHS chief warned the the additional sugar and calories people consume when celebrating with friends and family ‘doesn’t do our bodies any good’

‘I doubt there will be many people waiting 12 hours in A&E this weekend with an Easter egg-related injury.

‘NHS bosses should take a break from hectoring the public and let us enjoy Easter.’ 

Seven in ten men and six in ten women in England are overweight or obese and almost 4million people in the UK are living with type-2 diabetes.

Meanwhile, one in six children are leaving primary school with rotten teeth and tooth decay remains the most common reason for hospital admission in children aged between 6 and 10 years.

Dr Kelso, medical director at the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, wrote: ‘The Easter holidays are a fantastic opportunity for rest and relaxation with our families, which is so important for our wellbeing. 

‘This will also be a time when, for many of us, our consumption of chocolate and sweets increases.

‘Yet, many people don’t realise that an average Easter egg contains around three-quarters of an adult’s recommended daily calorie intake. 

‘At a time like this when we are seeing significant increases in cases of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well as tooth decay, I urge people to enjoy their Easter eggs in moderation and resist the urge to eat a whole egg in one go.

‘As well as Easter eggs many of us will be meeting up with family and friends for social occasions, which will see us eat more cakes and biscuits. 

‘Combined, it all adds up to a lot of extra sugar and calories which doesn’t do our bodies any good. Enjoy your sweet treats, but please don’t overdo it.

‘This holiday time will also be a busy period for NHS staff and services, and I ask people to do all they can to look after themselves and know how to access the most appropriate source of advice and care if they feel unwell.’