Obese coronavirus patients in hospital are more at risk of being admitted to intensive care or dying, today's Downing Street press conference heard.
Deputy chief scientific adviser Dame Angela McLean told the briefing evidence from studies gathered from patients with Covid-19 indicate that once in hospital, being obese is an additional risk factor.
Answering a question from the media, she said pandemic or not, "it's better not to be obese".
But she said she understood losing weight would have to be through a complete change in lifestyle, something she recognised as "really difficult".
Ms McLean said: “We have very fine evidence, actually, from rather beautiful studies, gathered from in patients in our hospitals with Covid-19 and those studies show that once you’re in hospital being obese is an additional risk factor for being admitted to an ICU or indeed for death.
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"My understanding for the way to lose weight is that going on a diet isn’t the way to do it and what you have to do is to actually completely change your lifestyle.
"You have to decide to do something that’s going to be enduring, not just going on a diet.
"And I understand that’s a really difficult thing to do but under all circumstances, pandemic or no pandemic, it’s better not to be obese."
A further 693 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Monday, Dominic Raab said.
It brings the total death toll to 29,427.
Speaking of entering the next phase of the coronavirus response today, the Foreign Secretary warned "we need to be under no illusions, the next stage won't be easy".
"If we are going to protect life and preserve our way of life, we must continue to be guided by the scientific advice we received and make sure that the next steps we take are sure-footed and sustainable."
The UK's coronavirus hospital death toll today increased by 436 more deaths reported in 24 hours.
England reported 366 new deaths, Scotland had 44 and Wales recorded 26 new deaths in hospitals as the UK entered the seventh week of its lockdown.
The daily number of deaths is up from 229 on Monday and 358 on Sunday, but a sharp increase was expected because many weekend deaths are not reported until Tuesday at the earliest.
New data has suggested the UK has the highest death toll in Europe and the second highest in the world behind the US, and it could now be just hundreds shy of 40,000.
Downing Street has admitted some coronavirus tests counted towards its 100,000 target may never be performed.
It was revealed on Friday that tens of thousands of at home tests a day are counted towards the daily figure when they are sent out by courier - rather than when they are processed by a lab.
Number 10 today said it was “perfectly possible that some people may choose not to return the tests.”
But the Prime Minister’s Official spokesman said there was “no reason to suspect the public who are going to the website to order a test are doing so in anything but good faith”.
Boris Johnson is also facing a backlash from Northern cities after it was revealed the government was considering keeping some areas in coronavirus lockdown longer than others.
While some restrictions look likely to be eased in the coming weeks, regions could face local lockdowns if there are signs of another outbreak there.
It emerged yesterday that the crisis in London - where the outbreak started - could be over sooner than in other parts of the country.
There were less people being treated in hospital with Covid-19 in London than in the North West for the second day in a row.
But MPs have been warned today that the threat of a second coronavirus peak is ‘very real’.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief medical advisor, told the Parliamentary Health and Social Care Committee today: “I can tell you that a second peak is something that is very real, that you need to watch out for, and you can see it in other countries.”
Sir Patrick today said the R number - the number of people infected by each Covid-19 carrier - is 0.6 to 0.9 but lower in London.
That is down from “something close to 3” in the early stages of the pandemic and means the virus is not spreading exponentially.
Yet he warned we are still “quite early” in the epidemic and “it doesn’t mean the whole thing’s gone away.”
