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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.
The robotic crew member mentioned in an article in February is now active on the International Space Station. Regarded as a companion and assistant for humans embarking on long duration flights – R2 (such is his designation) is now up and running.
R2 – has commenced its robonaut career in fine fettle and is a keen user of micro-blogging system Twitter – @AstroRobonaut keeping us informed of his activities and sending out personal messages to followers.
I am really enjoying the fact that my childhood dreams, inspired by Science Fiction predictions are slowly becoming reality – science fact.
Follow this link to a BBC article on R2's activities aboard the ISS.
NASA page covering the R2 Robonaut Project is here
Time for the Top 10 Jokes!
I always look forward to the list of the best gags from the Edinburgh Festival being published. You can almost guarantee that firstly, they will be funny and secondly, that you won't have heard them before.
The top two from this year are:
1) Nick Helm: "I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
2) Tim Vine: "Crime in multi-storey car parks. That is wrong on so many different levels."
Follow this link for the BBC's full list of the top 10.
For those of you following the developments in Tripoli a map putting place names into context.
Handy when reports cite area names.
It was over six months ago when the uprising in Libya commenced, but as I sit here watching the Alex Crawford footage (Sky News) of the 'rebel' army taking over the notorious Gaddafi compound in Tripoli – it would seem that forty odd years of rule by lunacy may finally be at end. Let us hope that the diverse factions and groups that have come together to overthrow a common foe, can stay unified in the coming months, and put in place a truly democratic and peaceful society. for the Libyan people.
I am, unfortunately. sceptical that this will be the case – I would however greatly enjoy being proven wrong!
I never cease to be amazed at the twists and turns of international politics and reckon that a lot of it's exponents wish that they had the ability to erase history as and when necessary. How cosy has the Libyan Looney with so many of the world's 'Great and Good' ? How differently they behave now.
With Gaddafi in hiding as I write – it is hard to say that the revolution is over – but it does look a step closer. Unity of the incoming regime is the key. It would be worse than tragic to see a new civil war develop because of inflexibility, and intolerance. The Libyan people genuinely deserve a fresh start and a chance to benefit from their potential wealth and prosperity.
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