Big Issue!

Happy new year to everyone! This being the first nanosized blog post of the year, I felt I should write about a subject which is ever increasing in size. This topic is of immense importance as well as proportions in a time of cash strapped governments squeezing budgets to accommodate agenda’s. The topic I refer to is the big one – obesity.

I felt this post was aptly timed. New year is a time of resolution and change for many, with ‘must get fit this year’ often bandied about by individuals, some even lace up their trainers and go for a run, a very commendable achievement after one too many festive mince pies. Alternatively, you could do as Paul Mason is and sue the NHS for ‘allowing’ him to achieve his hefty former title of Britain’s fattest man, weighing 70 stone. I will try to resist this blog post becoming a rant about Mr Mason’s lack of personal responsibility and the cost to the general public for keeping up his sizeable weight (£5000 to reinforce the hospital floors before his £30,000 gastric band surgery, on top of the ca. £500,000 per year for general care.) But I feel this case may be just the beginning of the biggest challenge the NHS and our society faces in the coming years.

Levels of obesity in the UK have been rising for a number of years due to the availability of cheap high calorie food, reduced levels of exercise amongst the masses all accompanied by a poor level of knowledge regarding diet and exercise. The most recent NHS figures suggesting 66% of men and 57% of women are overweight with around 25% of the adult UK population classed as obese. A couple of quick points for those who are unaware... The method of measurement remains the body mass index (BMI) which is the weight of the individual in kilograms divided by their height in metres squared. A BMI of 25-30 is classed as overweight, 30 and above is classed as obese. The current UK average stands at around 27kg/m². And can anyone tell me what a calorie is? (This is a fantastic question that many people have no idea about but will happily use the word ‘calorie’ frequently) A calorie is simply a unit of energy. Specifically it is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 litre of water by 1°C = 4.18 Joules. Consider yourself learned – no more excuses.

Now, aside from the potentially increased financial costs of feeding an overweight family, being overweight comes with a massive increase in health risks, everything from heart disease to various forms of cancer. These increasing levels of obesity and accompanying co-morbidities puts an ever increasing strain on already thinly spread NHS resources. Something that cannot continue forever. The NHS have already sold off car parks and allowed commercial reality take hold within the hospital with privatisation inside major hospitals – including commercial giants that are part of the problem. I know from personal experience Southampton General Hospital has inside its doors a set of solicitors specialising in, among other things, medical malpractice. As well as a well known fast food burger chain - an eerie place where patients will wheel their drips and overweight frames to pick up a bacon double cheeseburger.

I don’t know how as a society we have got to the stage where hospitals have fast food restaurants and their obese customers can consider suing the NHS that provides their frequently required care, but clearly something has gone wrong somewhere. Personally I would happily consider the suggestion of making obese patients pay for their NHS care. Although I can already see the difficulty with where you would draw the line with this method – do smokers pay for care too? What about those who drink too much? All I know is that the current trends cannot continue. Thankfully the obesity trend amongst children seems to have levelled off or even reduced (depending on which figures you look at) a very encouraging sign indeed. Hopefully today’s children will reduce the levels of obese adults in the near future. Regardless of how this impacts on future levels of obesity I believe everyone should take a little more personal responsibility. And what a time to do so. New year new you? Why not.