Thomas van Groningen has such a high BMI partly because the catering of the talk show Op1 is not in order, he said in conversation with the AD. The whole cupboard is full of Twixes and KitKats.”
The high fat content of Thomas van Groningen has been mocked for some time now, especially by the men of Today Inside. The political reporter likes good food, but that does have consequences. He has too much body fat for someone of his height and that is harmful to his health.
KitKat and Twix
Thomas confesses in it A.D that he is partly fattened by Op1’s poor catering. “When I’m at home my girlfriend cooks, she always fixes something healthy. But I usually eat in the restaurant of the House of Representatives or at the catering of Op1. I can leave the fries at Op1 and visit the salad bar in The Hague, but the bottom line is: I eat what is there.”
He continues: “It sounds disrespectful, but at Op1 you are fattened up. The entire cupboard is full of Twixes and KitKats and there are chips and nuts for drinks. Try not to touch that after the broadcast. I don’t drink beer because it gives me gout. Also from shrimp, or vitamin B: that substance causes a peak in my uric acid levels.”
Just like French
It’s not easy for obese people, Thomas said. Last night he found a fellow sufferer in Frans Timmermans at the table at Op1. He was teased about his weight by Geert Wilders during an election debate on SBS 6. And everyone stood there and watched it. “I sometimes have those kinds of jokes about my weight,” says Thomas.
Thomas thinks it goes too far. “This is a bit like the setting of VI, that’s where the jokes are made. I sat there too and I could always laugh at a joke about things like that. Only if someone who wants to become future prime minister, Geert Wilders, starts making these kinds of jokes, then you have to wonder what the example is for children.”
‘Don’t have to eat’
The stars of Today Inside do not understand that Thomas is trying to shift the blame for his body weight to Op1. KitKats and Twixen are in every TV studio, says Hélène Hendriks. “They are here too!”
Johan Derksen: “You don’t have to eat them all.”
René van der Gijp: “Thomas just has to be very careful. Have you ever seen him walking?”
Suffering from gout
Wilfred Genee stands up for Thomas: “He suffers from gout, he says.”
René: “Do you know where that comes from? Overweight and poor nutrition of course, right?”
Wilfred: “That definitely plays a role, I think.”