mike hawkins – the blog

Study backs slim clubs on NHS

Full Sky News article here

Providing weight-loss courses free of charge on the NHS could be the key to combating obesity, according to major new study published today in The Lancet.

Research by a Cambridge-based group has found that obese patients referred to a year-long programme such as Weight Watchers lose twice as much weight as those offered standard care on the NHS.

What sort of nonsense is this?
 

Let's get real here and look at a few facts - 

• Obesity (except in rare medical cases – with which I sympathise) is caused by gluttony and laziness
• NHS resourcs are finite
• The Weight Watchers organisation has consistently been proven to work for many people
• Lack of education on nutrition is no longer an excuse – information is everywhere
• Cambridge is not what it was if this is truly their suggestion – and the Lancet was short of copy
   

Obese people simply need to eat less and exercise. If a dieter needs a support network of some kind (which I can understabd) then use Weight Watchers or like ilk, by all means – but at his or her own expense.
 

Part of the motivation of Weight Watchers is that you pay for it – and it is a waste of your own money if you don't stick with the programme!
 

Additionally, if you spend less money on shit food you can afford the fees, so the argument that organised groups are inaccessible to everyone does not hold water!
 

i am sick of hearing that a lot of the obesity problem is a matter of education. Bloody hell it's a matter of common sense not education, but even if it was, everywhere you look there is nutritional information. Given that a lot of these porky folk obviously spend a lot of time slumped and snacking in front of the television they cannot possibly avoid the plethora of healthy eating articles and diet conscious recipe programmes.
 

The Beleagured NHS certainly does not need to use its overstretched resources to reward gluttony and sloth – it is patently ridiculous.
 

How a 'respected' group of 'experts' can come up with such nonsense is beyond me – and this was obviously printed in error by The Lancet as it was surely destined for the April 1st. edition.
 

I am prone to over-eating and can pile it on if not careful – when I notice the squidge amassing I cut down a bit, get on my bike or do a a few manual tasks…I'm certainly no genius – but even I've worked that out.

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