Thursday 28 July 2011

Not Really Much Of A Skill, Is It?

David Haslam, a leading GP and chairman of the UK’s National Obesity Forum, says his fellow doctors can spot overweight children the minute they walk through the door.
Errr, yes...

Come to think of it, that's better than relying on the useless 'tick box' BMI.
His comments came in response to a study showing that most parents who receive letters about the health risks of their children being fat do very little about it.
That's because they can take a look at their child as it walks through the door too, and see that the letter is a pack of nonsense in a lot of cases.

So, is Dr Haslam going to campaign to stamp out use of the discredited BMI?
Dr Haslam, who is a GP in Hertfordshire, said: ‘Sending letters to parents like this is a waste of time. It’s the duty of the healthcare professional, doctor or nurse, when they see a patient whose weight is putting their health at risk to seize the moment – children’s lives are at stake.’
It appears not. Because 'It's for the chiiiiildreeeeen!'...
‘If a child comes into the surgery with a thorn in a finger, take out the thorn and then ask then what they’re doing about trying to lose weight and how can we help’ he added.
People come into doctor's surgery's with thorns in their fingers, do they? I'd have thought it'd be the vets...

10 comments:

Captain Haddock said...

"David Haslam, a leading GP and chairman of the UK’s National Obesity Forum, says his fellow doctors can spot overweight children the minute they walk through the door" ...

Yet they can't spot the thousands of malingerers who falsely claim Incapacity Benefit & cost the already hard-pressed Taxpayer millions every year ..

Oh, wait .. there's no card in the "victim" pack, or brownie points to be won for spotting a malingerer, is there ?

James Higham said...

I think this guy would be a thorn in the side - you have flu? OMG, are you ever fat!

SBC said...

If your kid is overweight then do what I did, get them smoking.

You don't see many overweight 9 year olds with 30 a day habits.

FACT!

Anonymous said...

Funnily enough, as someone who was a fat kid whose life was at risk.....as soon as I went through puberty I lost all of my puppy fat and have fitted into the ideal range of the British Standard Human ever since.

Fucking healthcare/lifestyle professionals.

SBC said...

"as soon as I went through puberty I lost all of my puppy fat "

Snap!

At age 16 I went from a 44" to a 32" waist.

Which diet?

The 'Discovered GIRLS and alcoholism and wanted to get laid' diet.

Testosterone.Never fails.

Mick Turatian said...

Goodness me, what a fathead...

Gallovidian said...

Maybe if he takes the thorn out of the childs finger the child will later grow to (albeit obese) adulthood and remember this and if they should ever meet in the arena when the doctor is later enslaved etcetera it could be to the doctors advantage.

Thinking ahead there doc!

Paul said...

Oh yes, the National Obesity Forum, that organisation that willingly accepted a £500,000 bribe from that most health-conscious of organisations, Coca-Cola!

What wankers.

microdave said...

"It’s the duty of the healthcare professional, doctor or nurse, when they see a patient whose weight is putting their health at risk"

What about when the practice NURSE is grossly overweight???

JuliaM said...

"Yet they can't spot the thousands of malingerers who falsely claim Incapacity Benefit..."

Quite!

"If your kid is overweight then do what I did, get them smoking."

:D

"What about when the practice NURSE is grossly overweight???"

Oh, indeed! Seen that a lot!