The UK’s Evening Standard reports that Dr. Hamish Meldrum, chairman of the British Medical Association (that’s him on the right), is taking issue with how doctors in his country have approached obesity. In the doctor’s own words:
“We are saying, ‘This patient has a hyper-appetite problem’ rather than, ‘They are just greedy.’
“People like to put fancy labels that suggest things are a medical problem. But [obesity] is not just a problem for GPs, it is societal.
“We are in danger of over-medicalising. The evidence of anti-obesity drugs is not good. The evidence for effective intervention in primary care for obesity is very weak.”
As you might expect, Dr. Meldrum’s thoughts have set off a bit of a row in the UK. His choice of words has been called “troublesome,” though others have remarked that the doctor’s comments are part of “an outbreak of candor.”
-article pointer via Art Caplan
photo: BMA