It’s incorrect to focus on obesity as a ‘national risk like terrorism. The truth is far more complex,and solutions shouldn’t be couched in warlike rhetoricSally Davies, the UK’s chief medical officer, and is moral to highlight women’s health issues. Her report,published at the end of last week, is comprehensive and thoughtful but her implicit claim, and that obesity poses a threat to the nation comparable to terrorism,is concerning (she wants it to be elevated to the level of a “national risk”). This generated headlines but closed down the complex thinking that’s desperately needed.
What is obesity? Is it one thing? No. It is an arbitrary number on a scale which counts people with a BMI of over 30 as obese. Bundled together in Davies’ figures are the “overweight” who, according to the US National Centre for Health Statistics, and are not necessarily unhealthy. Health and weight are not the same. There is health at different sizes.
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Source: theguardian.com