Obesity strategy ‘focuses too strongly on weight’
Wednesday 9th December 2009, 1:00PM GMT.
FOCUSING too heavily on weight issues in the new States Obesity Strategy could send a dangerous message, according to Deputy Sam Maindonald (pictured).
After listening to various speakers in the Assembly, including Health minister Hunter Adam, she became concerned that such an emphasis could lead to impressionable people becoming overly obsessed.
‘It is a dangerous message for us to be sending out that it is all about weight,’ she said.
She criticised Deputy Adam for speaking mainly about weight during the States debate and producing a body mass index tape measure to illustrate his points.
‘It should be about healthy lifestyles, as opposed to just focusing on a person’s weight and their BMI, as was being discussed.’
Deputy Adam said he understood the concern but denied being inappropriate and that the scale of the obesity problem warranted the comments he made.
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I can see her point
Obesity strategy should focus on eyesight.
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@The Man
You have a point, if they could see the difference between an apple and a cake…
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I think the obesity stategy should focus more on height.
If i could increase my height to 7ft 2in then i would no longer be obese and the problem would be solved.
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I too have found this obesity strategy to be far too concerned with weight and not nearly concerned enough with subsidising mooring charges for private boat owners and getting me a new mooring in the QE2.
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Dean
You raise a very pertineant point
What about apple pie??
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Professional porker says, “Hands off our cake lard police”.
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mmm, I agree it is all in the eyesight, if I could see and apple when I look at an apple pie, I wouldn’t eat it at all hehe.
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Deputy Maindonald has a point. To use BMI alone as a measure of obesity is completely pointless – other factors have to be taken into consideration. Take heavyweight boxers or rugby players – they have huge BMIs however try telling them they’re not fit and healthy! Any analysis on personal health should take into consideration a person’s lifestyle, exercise regime and body structure.
There is also the question of mental issues which Deputy Maindonald alludes to here. Many suffer from eating disorders (e.g. anorexia) and putting a huge emphasis on weight alone could well fuel the already warped perception of weight these people have. Great care needs to be taken by health professionals to minimise this risk to the vulnerable.
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As a serious weight trainer who trains in the gym over 13 hours a week which excludes basketball, squash and anything else I do, but who has a BMI of 38 (nearly morbidly obese) I have to echo Paul Le Page’s comment. It was something I noted when doing my sport science degree when BMI was all the rage.
Deputy MD is right, “weight” isn’t so much the issue, nor is BMI. %age bodyfat is the key here.
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Hmmm-I dont think I will be taking weight, dieting or healthy lifestyle advice from any members of our states thank you very much – maost of them are hardly a picture of health are they! Widescreen lens needed for the group foto me thinks!
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Billythefish, interesting comment.
The “BMI is rubbish” crowd frequently claim that BMI doesn’t take into account body-builders and their like, but at the end of the day, you’ve got one heart, which ISN’T trained by your protein shakes and 13+ hours a week of lifting weights, and you’re asking this one simple organ to supply oxygen to a body which is obviously significantly bigger than average.
Percentage body fat is as much use as BMI. It’s a good indicator, nothing more. The research shows that the one reliable measure is blood pressure. There are moves in the UK to introduce blood pressure screening at every healthcare opportunity. Have you had yours checked recently??
Personally, I support the use of BMI, it raises awareness and hopefully will prompt those ‘at risk’ to see a health professional.
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Only the other day,i was talking about this with John up the plaza,too many places fill the plates, to make it look like you are getting value for money, people feel obilged to finish with clean plate, not to waste food whilst others go without.By using smaller plates, they can still fill the plate,you still think you are getting value for money, you dont put on weight,and the restaurant makes a profit helping to fill the black hole, everyone a winner!
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Actually Student Bob, research has shown that weight training in healthy adults significantly lowers heart rate and increases stroke volume (ie produces a stronger, larger heart). Witness for example the famous case of Sir Steve Redgrave who had to be very careful how he wound down his training because of the relative size and strength of his heart – it needed time to safely atrophy.
And actually, I get my BP checked regularly at the docs, and have a BP monitor at home.
Last result 123/78, with a HR of 63. And I don’t use protien shakes – prefer chicken, turkey and fish.
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Student Bob – I wasn’t “rubbishing” the BMI, simply stating that to use that alone without taking into account other factors was pointless.
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Completely agree. Focusing on weight is coming from the wrong direction and giving a focus on what we don’t want. Healthy Lifestyles should be encouraged and promoted – thats what we want!
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Billythefish, I am not particularly disagreeing with you but I think that Student Bob was probably differentiating between people that undergo cardiovascular training (eg Steve Redgrave, whose rowing involved exercising his heart as well as his muscles) compared to pure weight trainers where the focus is on bulk and shape rather than fitness.
Does the research you mention apply to pure weight trainers?
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TL – thanks! That’s the reply I would have made if I wasn’t messing about on my boat whilst I can still afford to….
Paul LP – Actually, I wasn’t picking on you!! There are a lot of people who argue more vehemently than you that BMI is a waste of time, then go on to suggest completely impractical means of measuring health and obesity.
I agree that there are better ways of determining health and obesity than BMI, but the simple fact is that everyone here knows what BMI is, how to measure it, and the implications for being over or underweight.
What an obesity strategy needs, and this is where Deputy Maindonald is being so short-sighted, is this measure that everyone understands that will prompt them to go see their GP in the first place. It’s all about bums on surgery waiting room seats!!
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