BMA Calls For Action To Tackle Rising Obesity, Scotland

A call to action. That'll do it.

Commenting this week on figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats which show that the number of people dying as a result of obesity has gone up by over 40% since 2004, Dr Dean Marshall, Chairman of the BMA's Scottish General Practitioners Committee said:

"The rise in deaths related to obesity is of grave concern. Currently around one third of children are either overweight or obese. We are in danger of raising a generation of children burdened with long term chronic health conditions. Doctors have a role to play in supporting overweight patients and talking about the dangers of obesity but there is a limit to what they can do. The BMA believes that the government must take action on this issue in order to achieve a real improvement in the future health of our children."

In Scotland, over 40 people a day are diagnosed with diabetes, and most of these cases are Type 2 diabetes, which is closely linked with obesity. Increasing rates in childhood obesity will also lead to more future cases of heart disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers. The estimated overall cost of obesity to Scottish society is £457 million every year.

If you stop paying for people's diseases of choice, the cost to society goes down.

Let the natural attrition take care of the rest.

If people are interested in living longer and better, they will make the necessary changes on their own.