No treatment for you, you are obese

[Workingman]

.

So says a North Yorks NHS Trust.

It is an understandable position to take for those who make poor lifestyle choices, but it is a dangerous precedent to set. What happens to those who become ill or injured through drinking, smoking, drugs, playing sport or falling off ladders doing DIY? Will they be next?

If obesity is a problem, and it obviously is, then why cannot the government step in with some useful programme to help combat it. It has programmes to help people quit smoking, get off drugs and alcohol, so why not something practical for obesity?

[Kaz]

Yes, they are suggesting a BMI of 30 and above, which to be honest must mean much of the population these days! I do agree that people need to take some responsibility for their own health, however what about those who become obese due to immobility, or the drugs they have to take? Or athletes? When I met Mick he was solid muscle from playing rugby, not an ounce of fat on him anywhere, but his BMI was 33 at the time.

This is a dangerous slippery slope to go down...................

[Workingman]

BMI was discredited years ago but is still used by the NHS.

It is rather worrying that the nuclear option is usually the first to be taken with such problems when the reasons for them are so complicated. Obesity affects all of society, but especially the young through the choices made by their parents.

A number of things spring to mind when thinking about obesity:

* The availability of food 24/7
* The types of food available
* The choice of sweets and chocolates and their positioning in shops of every kind
* As above but for crisps and other savoury snacks
* As above but for sugary drinks or 'diet' versions loaded with chemicals
* What were once treats now being part of the every day diet
* Poor shopping choices by parents (see Eat Well for Less for details)
* Lack of knowledge in preparing food and how to cook
* Advertising
* The urban myth that people do not have time to cook
* The other myth that fresh is a lot more expensive than ready-made

There are many things to tackle regarding obesity, but they are hard tasks. It is so much easier to play the blame game or slap on a tax.

[AggersAgain]

I think that another cause of obesity is that catering establishments are nowadays serving much larger meals than they used to.
Of course they are quite happy to do so because they can then charge more per meal, and then charge more and make more profit.
My wife and I often find that one serving would have been quite enough for the two of us. How the Government could tackle this
problem is beyond me. Another thing is the amount of fat contained in some products. Some ready-made meal in M & S contain
almost my whole-day's target for fat. No wonder there is so much obesity.

[medsec222]

Youve just shot me down in flames Aggers - I love my M&S ready meals

[AggersAgain]

Sorry, Medec.

Actually, we like them too, but we restrict buying them except for special occasions.

[Suff]

Well this would lead to a court case for me...

The NHS "categoric" BMI for me is 9st to 12st 3lbs. Now I'm having a raging argument with Mrs S who says that I should not drop to my best weight 12.5st, because it's way too light for me today. She thinks 14st to 14.5st would be a perfect weight for me.

But, according to the NHS BMI garbage they would be on the point of refusing to treat me at that weight.

If I was 9st they'd be demanding that I go into hospital for treatment for acute bulimia but I'd still be on their Green path and they absolutely refuse to change it for someone who does not fit the build.

Pitiful would be a complement.

[cromwell]

So will this sort of thing be extended into other areas?

No treatment for injured sports people? It's their choice to play sport, after all.
No treatment for youngsters taking dodgy drugs?
No treatment for STI's caught by practising unsafe sex?

It's just an excuse not to treat people, imo.

[Kaz]

It's a slippery slope, isn't it Cromwell?

[Suff]

They need some excuse. What I'm told internally is that they are now reaching the limits of their budgets no matter how well they manage. One PCG that has not gone over in more than a decade is over this year. A lot of that stress came with the costs of treating Syrian immigrants with massive health problems due to the war. The knock on impact is that British citizens won't get treated on time.

It is a very slippery slope. It is the same as all the other slopes where the vast majority are used and abused to meet narrow and vertical political causes.