The NHS is groaning under the weight of the nation. Obesity rates in this country are surprisingly high and increasing rapidly. We are one of the fattest countries in Europe.
Obesity is estimated to cost this country around £50 billion a year. Managing type 2 diabetes alone creates a £10 billion annual bill for our healthcare.
NHS data show that in 2019/20, where obesity was a factor, there were more than one million hospital admissions, up 17% from 2018/19. If we don’t do something soon, it will paralyze us. The NHS is already struggling to keep up with demand in the wake of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis is getting worse.
I’ve been worried about this for a while. I have seen more and more obese patients clog their waiting rooms, and yet most disturbing of all is the perverse expectation that no one – including doctors – should criticize the overweight.
NHS data show that in 2019/20, where obesity was a factor, there were more than one million hospital admissions, up 17% from 2018/19. Dr Max Pemberton says if we don’t do something about it soon we will be paralyzed.
A few years ago, the pinnacle of insanity was reached when the National Institute for Health and Charity Excellence – the NHS’s regulatory body – recommended that doctors should not label patients as “obese” if they suffered from it. But if we don’t do something about the coming wave of obesity, it will topple the NHS.
There were strong warnings last week. Cancer Research has published a report that estimates that if the current trend continues, by 2040 the number of obese people in this country will exceed the number of people of a healthy weight.
Think about it: Obesity will actually be more common than physically healthy. Experts have warned that this should be a wake-up call for the government. But shouldn’t this be a wake-up call for us, the general public? After all, we are responsible for our own weight.
The fact that we just look to others for the answer is actually part of the problem, right? Could the numbers be any clearer, with figures released last week showing that councils spent 30 million pounds on weight loss programs last year, with only 220 people actually losing weight in the end? This is more than a shameful waste of money.
It is facing a bigger problem that we no longer see a problem with obesity, so people have no motivation to deal with it.
Point your finger at guilt, sit down and eat another cookie.
The real problem here is that people don’t want to admit that the only person who can do anything about their weight is themselves. Yes, government and society can help and support it, but the dollar stops for one to really change something.
Dr. Max Pemberton (pictured) says we need to stop normalizing being overweight and proposes a financial penalty to motivate people to lose weight
There is no doubt that obesity is a complex problem involving many factors, including social and psychological aspects. We may get confused when trying to understand how all these factors are related, but the simple and brutal truth is that people are overweight because they take in more calories than their body needs.
It’s also true that diets don’t work in the long run – obese people who lose weight often have a hard time keeping it off. This shows me that we need to do things differently.
First, we must stop normalizing being overweight. This does not mean that we should be cruel or heartless towards those struggling with their burdens. But we must stop deceiving ourselves into saying that they don’t have problems.
Doctors should be encouraged to talk about it. We need to put an end to this “fat and fit” bullshit once and for all, it’s just unscientific wishful thinking. We need to support those who lose weight by helping people focus on a psychologically informed approach that will help them not only reduce the amount of food but also change their relationship to food.
For example, we should launch a nationwide psychotherapy program to address why people use food as a crutch and increase motivation.
However, with that being the case, I suspect people wouldn’t bother showing up. So we also need to force people to take more responsibility for their weight.
Achieving this kind of mindset change is not easy. Currently, some people don’t understand why they need to address their weight problems, and I think this attitude is becoming more and more popular as obesity becomes more and more the norm. There is no real incentive because they get the pleasure of eating, but without immediate results.
Then, of course—arthritis, increased risk of cancer, heart attack, and stroke—for example—but what we need is something more urgent to make people think twice before happily piling on the extra pounds.
We need something to discourage us, and although it pains me to say it, we know from behavior change research that people generally respond better to financial punishments.
The fat tax—an additional tax on national insurance for people with obesity, for example—could be an incentive for them to finally solve the problem.
We’ve flirted with this idea in the past with discussions about the sugar tax and the junk food tax. But why punish those who can hold their own? The fat tax would be fair, as the obese use a disproportionate amount of NHS resources.
I don’t want this country to end up in a situation where the sick and needy can’t access the care they need as healthcare is down on their knees by people who don’t bother to say no to food.
Maybe people are suddenly motivated to do something about their weight when they have to pay.
For once I hope I’m wrong
Joe and Jess Thwaite (pictured) from Gloucestershire emerged as the winners of the £184m jackpot.
Many of you have contacted me after last week’s article explaining why we didn’t want to win the EuroMillions lottery, to say you’d like to try it anyway. Well, Joe and Jess Thwaite have now emerged as the winners of the £184m jackpot. The Gloucestershire couple said they went public because they didn’t want to put the “burden” of keeping their friends and family a secret, which seems logical. Although I hope now they are not flooded with requests for financial aid from everyone. Looks like they’re on the wrong track. I hope they find a way to live the life they have and enjoy the money they earn.
Football player Jake Daniels has probably done more for the mental health of young people than most of us, by declaring himself gay. I see a surprising number of people in the ER attempting suicide because of their sexuality. Having role models can help them be more at peace with themselves.
- One study found that women were given half as much medication as men to stop fatal bleeding after a serious accident. The drug, tranexamic acid, can reduce the risk of death from bleeding by 30%. But the study shows that because of the NHS’s “gender discrimination”, doctors are not considering giving it to women. This bias is common. Studies have shown, for example, that women are less likely than men to be offered pain relievers. Part of this is thought to be due to doctors assuming that women are more likely to fidget than men, so they don’t prioritize pain relief. Obviously, however unconscious this bias may be, it needs to be corrected.
DR MAX RECIPE…
WALKING TALK GROUP
This is a more convenient and accessible version of the popular weekly Run Talk Run groups. The goal is to exercise (usually 3-5km), meet new people, socialize, and seek mental health support in a safe and caring environment. For more information or participation, visit runtalkrun.com.
Source: Daily Mail
