In a recent article on obesity in the British Medical Journal is being sited as a possible bankrupting factor in United Kingdom. Over 1/2 of UK residents are overweight and a full 20% are obese. The article investigates some of the ways the country can fight the obesity epidemic and how medical and epidemiology communities can focus their efforts on combating the further spread of obesity. At one point the article makes a case for obesity intervention at every point that an individual gets in touch with a medical professional.
A strong case now exists for making obesity a core part of all medical curriculums and part of the training of all other health professions. Continuing emphasis should be placed on obesity in postgraduate teaching—both in the early generic professional training programmes for all specialties and then later in relevant specialty programmes. In other words, any contact between a medical professional and a patient is an opportunity to assess whether that patient has a weight problem—and to offer advice.
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