Boris Johnson has struggled with his weight and in 2018 he revealed he weighed almost 16 and a half stone

Boris Johnson was so badly affected by coronavirus because he is “significantly” overweight, a doctor said yesterday.

Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist, said that risk of death from the disease increased ten-fold if the patient is obese.

He pointed out that “slimmer” members of the cabinet, such as Matt Hancock, recovered much more quickly and were not hospitalised.

The prime minister, 55, has long struggled with his weight and in 2018 he revealed he weighed almost 16 and a half stone, which at 5ft 9in puts him in the high-risk category. Dr Malhotra, speaking on Good Morning Britain on ITV, said the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention had discovered that there was an alarming link between death rates for Covid-19 and obesity.

He