Boris Johnson looks pale and gaunt as he takes second early morning run in a row to get back in shape after blaming coronavirus health scare on being overweight

• Boris Johnson, 55, has embarked on early morning run for second day in a row  
• It comes after he last month spend a week in hospital after contracting Covid-19 
• According to reports, Mr Johnson, 55, blames his weight for intensive care need

Boris Johnson looked pale and thin today as he embarked on his second early morning run in a row in an effort to get back in shape after his battle with coronavirus.    

The Prime Minister, 55, is seen in pictures wearing a white T-shirt bearing a brightly-coloured Philippines design and navy adidas shorts as he returns to Downing Street after his morning exercise.

Today was the second in a row Mr Johnson has taken a morning run after he reportedly decided his touch-and-go battle with Covid-19 was exacerbated by him being overweight.     

According to The Times, Mr Johnson told some of his colleagues 'it's all right for you thinnies' as he discussed the danger being overweight presents for Covid patients

Boris Johnson has today been spotted in a Philippines holiday T-shirt as he embarked on an early morning run for the second day in a row 

The PM looked pale and skinny as he returned to Downing Street in navy adidas shorts

The Conservative leader was admitted to St Thomas' Hospital in London 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus in April.He was moved into intensive care the following day and left hospital after a week of care, thanking NHS staff who he said 'saved my life, no question.' 

Mr Johnson had weighed 17-and-a-half stone before he went into hospital, putting his BMI at 36 when his 5ft9in height is taken into account and placing him over the BMI of 30 that means a person is obese.  

But his swing toward interventionism in his politics follows a long-standing opposition to 'nanny state' measures and scepticism about the sugar tax, which he pledged to review, among other 'sin taxes'.

It put him at odds with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who firmly believes that the sugar tax - brought in back in April 2018 - has been a 'total triumph'.  

A major study in Glasgow last week found obesity may double the risk of needing hospitalisation for COVID-19.

And Oxford University research has found those who are morbidly obese are three times as likely to die of coronavirus.

The news came after official figures revealed one-in-four UK coronavirus fatalities had diabetes – a condition often linked to obesity.

For the first time, NHS England published a breakdown of deaths by pre-existing conditions. Only five per cent of victims didn't have an underlying issue.

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Mr Johnson has regularly been pictured taking exercise, including in his blue Bermuda shorts. Here he is pictured in 2017 going for a jog during the 2017 Conservative Party conference in Manchester

Of the 22,332 patients who died since March 31, when pre-existing conditions began to be reported, some 5,873 (26 per cent) of patients had diabetes.

The condition - affecting around four million Britons - makes people more susceptible to developing infections.  

High blood sugar levels can weaken the patient's immune system defence, making it slower to respond to viruses such as coronavirus.

It's also closely connected with obesity, which has been recognised as potential risk factors for suffering severe COVID-19 complications.

Doctors said diabetics would have better COVID-19 outcomes if they managed their condition properly.

The Government's official death tally shows that 35,422 people have died of Covid-19 in the UK, amid 250,138 confirmed cases.

Diabetes is a common condition affecting an estimated one in 16 people in the UK. That includes both diagnosed and undiagnosed people.

Dr Hajira Dambha-Miller, a GP and specialist in diabetes, said she was not surprised by the data.

She told MailOnline: 'People with diabetes are more susceptible to infections, even if we are not in the middle of a pandemic.

'Diabetes leads to greater susceptibility to infection because there is more sugar for bugs to grow on and chronic inflammation means the immune system is slower to clear it.'

A major study in Glasgow last week found obesity may double the risk of needing hospitalisation for COVID-19

Dr Dambha-Miller said when someone has diabetes, their blood becomes 'like treacle' as a result of high sugar levels.

'Physically, it's harder for the immune system to get to the virus,' she said. 'The virus bugs do a lot of damage before the immune system even realises it's there.

'When the body does kick in, it won't work as it should do. The immune cells are damaged because they've been saturated in sugar for years and don't work the way they should.'

Meanwhile as the Government promised to ease the UK lockdown, the Prime Minister is also said to be keen on focusing on moving into a recovery phase for the UK and delivering manifesto promises.

He highlighted pledges such as introducing 20,000 more police officers and building 40 hospitals.

'He was optimistic and focused on the future, on getting back to the levelling up agenda,' a source told The Times.