The fickle hand of COVID-related fame has been good to Dr Nick Coatsworth. Whereas some government officials became polarising figures during the pandemic, and others remain a reminder of the dark days of lockdown, the former deputy chief medical officer hasshow hosts Karl Stefanovic and Ally Langdon that he suffers from post-traumatic stress following a stint in Darfur with Doctors Without Borders, that Coatsworth realised his media potential.
In a 12-week program designed to reduce the risk factors for premature death, Olympic swimmer and heart attack survivor Duncan Armstrong, 55, and his son Tom, 32, are joined bysisters Eliza, 38, and Liberty Paschke, 35, a NSW couple in their 50s who smoke and have excessive alcohol consumption, and a Victorian couple in their 20s with an over-reliance on energy drinks.
In the series, Duncan Armstrong, who underwent triple bypass surgery three years ago, says: “This box of family history, you can’t negotiate with … Because of my early success as an elite athlete, I thought I was invincible. Tommy might find a time bomb out of this testing.” “Whereas in Japan, people are still working well into their 70s. You see older Japanese people doing road work repairs, and as sushi chefs, and working down at the local convenience store, whereas we hardly ever see that in Australia. But it’s not just about the individual having that purpose. It’s also about the community recognising that the older Australian can make a contribution.”