THE FINAL HELPING Neil Donnelly Neil is a Fellow of the BDA and retired Dietetic Services Manager. His main areas of interest are weight management and eating disorders.
Over the summer we saw the best athletes in the world competing at the Olympic Games in Brazil. Sport has been watched by millions of people globally and countries have embraced the success of individual athletes. Will this encourage more of us to get out of our chairs and find out how we can take part in a huge variety of activities available on our doorstep? The National Lottery has provided much needed financial support for many of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to enable them to have the best training facilities and professional advice available. What an opportunity for young people! For me, this is where such a difference could be made to the childhood obesity crisis. The benefits of increased activity are well known and parents and professionals have their part to play.
If we are to show that we really can be effective, we need to make a louder, more productive, more innovative input to the problem that is reducing our NHS to mainly tackling obesityrelated issues. Some years ago, I was given the best visual aid I have ever received. It was a five pound block of bright yellow fat. In fact, it wasn’t a block, it was a lump which replicated the colour and feel of that found under the skin of an obese individual. Many of you will have seen this. I also have a one pound lump. The impact of this was enough to make people think just what they were carrying
around with them and the problems they were storing up for the future. To this, I would now like to add a most informative and ground-breaking TV documentary on obesity which was shown recently on BBC Three. Entitled OBESITY: The Post-Mortem, the centrepiece of the programme is a woman, aged 60, who died of heart failure. The 12-hour dissection, condensed to an hour, was undertaken at the Royal College of Surgeons in London and explores how obesity damages the organs, the diseases it causes and why obesity is placing so much stress on our healthcare system. I would recommend that every hospital Trust has it running on a loop at every outpatient obesity clinic. I would also recommend that every secondary school shows it as part of its health promotion programme. It is a challenging documentary to watch, but then obesity is challenging! Dietitians are recognised first and foremost by the public as experts in weight management. The BDA are currently running an online conversation about the future of our profession. If we are to show that we really can be effective, we need to make a more productive, more innovative input to the problem that is reducing our NHS to mainly tackling obesity-related issues. It is never too late for people to take charge of their health and lessen the impact on their bodies. The next generation expects. Watch The Post-Mortem and see how you feel! www.NHDmag.com October 2016 - Issue 118
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