Doctors must be free to tell the truth about weight issues

WHETHER it’s BOGOF offerings, high-calorie takeaway dishes, or the sweet treats lined up next to the checkout counter, there’s only one person responsible for putting any of it in your mouth — you.

But we now seem to have reached the peak of denial in this country, where a staggering 63.7 percent of adults are now overweight and 29.5 percent are obese, according to the UN.

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In Japan, where elementary school children are given a nutritionally balanced lunch as part of a “good eating” program and the national diet is high in vegetables, fish and rice in smaller portions than in Britain, the obesity rate is just 4.4 percent.

But here, “It’s not my fault I’m clinically obese” seems to be the mantra. It’s the fault of the food industry, the government, the supermarkets, the advertisers, yada yada yada.

Yes, all of this continues to contribute to Britain’s growing waistline, but ultimately personal responsibility for what you eat and how much you exercise will always be the determining factor in whether an adult is healthy or fat.

Oops, I used the “F” word. It’s pretty much illegal these days, especially if you work in medicine, where any mention of a patient being overweight is treated as a personal slur that hurt feelings and could be a criminal offense.

Regardless, obesity-related diseases cost the already struggling NHS around £7billion each year – a number that will rise to just under £10billion by 2050 if we don’t do something about it.

It was revealed last week that local councils were spending £30million on weight loss initiatives, but only a paltry 220 people actually shed the pounds. That’s a staggering £136,000 per person.

The diet industry makes billions in the merry-go-round of dieting and resuming.

Some manage to keep the weight off – and do them credit – but the fact that seven out of ten adults in England alone are now classed as ‘overweight’ tells you most are either putting it on again or not even trying to relocate it in the first place.

Last week I ran into an old acquaintance who I had a hard time recognizing because he had moved up to number 6 and was glowing with health compared to his old, red-faced and breathless self.

“How did you manage it?” I asked. “I ate less and started exercising,” he shrugged like it was the easiest thing in the world. Of course it wasn’t. It has taken a tremendous amount of willpower, sacrifice and effort but he is so much happier now, will live longer and will now hopefully not need the NHS funded hip replacement he was headed for.

shortening of lifespan

“Eat in moderation and exercise more” may seem simple, but it works. And acting like someone else is responsible for helping you lose weight isn’t helping anyone.

Also, the “love your body” industry, which, in addition to doing a great job of promoting self-esteem among those who don’t fit the supermodel’s “ideal,” sometimes extends to celebrating the excessive folds of fat that shorten the lifespan of certain people .

We should never make mean remarks about a person’s weight. But equally, medical professionals in particular should feel free to be honest about the harm obesity is causing – not just to individuals, but to the NHS and society as a whole.

If we can talk openly about it, we can give people the help they need – whether it’s just a little encouragement, access to treatment for people with binge eating, and in extreme cases gastric bypass to limit food intake.

And once they learn the benefits of eating moderately and exercising more, they’ll pass that lesson on to the four out of ten children who are currently overweight, and hopefully save them from ailing adulthood.

Obesity is a vicious cycle. And peddling the myth that everyone else is to blame and not our own makes the problem even bigger.

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Kylie nails the diaper change…

THE Kardashian clan released a installment of filtered photos from Kourtney’s wedding to Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker over the weekend.

Here’s Kylie in a photo captioned, “My baby got me,” which is a reference to her four-year-old daughter Stormi capturing the moment.

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It is not yet known whether her three-month-old son was also with her in Italy.

But if so, those nails tell me she didn’t change diapers.

GINO A GORDI FOR ME

COMEDIAN Dom Joly has always been suspicious of chef Raymond Blanc’s thick French accent.

He says: “I have a sneaking suspicion that his real name is Ray White and that he has family in Southend.

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“As soon as he’s done with the ‘pro French’ thing, he goes home for some eels and a night with the dogs.”

I feel the same way about TV chef Gino D’Acampo, whom I had long suspected despite his comedic Italian accent, but whose real name is Gordie Campbell and hails from Glasgow.

MY POV ON POA IS BIN IT

IF I EVER got invited to that TV show Room 101, where you send things that irritate you to a place where the sun doesn’t shine, the acronym POA would have been at the top of my list.

The annoying acronym comes up all the time when looking for a new house or apartment online (or, in my case, just snooping around someone else’s homes) and apparently it’s usually required by the seller, who doesn’t want their neighbors to know how much they demand.

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But a simple call to the agent will tell you, and the sale price is easy to check online afterwards, so what’s the point?

Now the National Trading Standards Group has issued guidelines to ban the use of POA, which they say is also being used as a tactic to lure buyers who may not be able to afford the property on offer.

So RIP POA.

Shoppers will be better protected and the rest of us can keep snooping around while remarking about a neighbor, “She wants how much for that old dump? The cheek of her”.

THINKING SNOW

Accounting giant KPMG will offer its employees “inclusiveness” training, which includes advice not to discuss ski vacations, gap years or private schools for fear of excluding those who cannot afford such living luxuries.

Yawning. As someone who went to state school, didn’t have a gap year and only went ‘skiing’ (ie falling over) when I was working as a royal correspondent and following Charles and Diana to Klosters, I can say, ‘What a bunch old nonsense”.

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As an inexperienced reporter, I have worked with many people who came from supposedly “privileged” lives and can safely say that they showed no prejudice towards me – unconscious or not.

And these days, “working-class” credentials are all the rage, and you’re far more likely to draw criticism if you’re viewed as a “fancy idiot.”

Whatever your background, telling someone to pretend to be something they’re not is fucking condescending.

• THE waiting lists for allotments are getting, um, longer. The looming livelihood crisis is at the root as people seek to save money by becoming more self-sufficient. Mind you, food shortages are also looming as penalty costs for fertilizers induce farmers to plant less. So what allotment gardeners save in food costs could be spent on security measures to prevent others from stealing the fruits of their labor.

WHERE’S MINE?

BROTHERS Sri and Gopi Hinduja have topped the Sunday Times rich list with £28.472 billion in “industry and finance” fortunes.

Her father, a carpet and spice dealer, started the business with the maxim: “everything belongs to everyone”.

In this case, one billion should be enough, thanks. My bank details are in the mail.