£12 billion found for fatties

[Kwacky]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... llion.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Up to two million obese Britons will be eligible for weight-loss surgery on the NHS under new guidelines.

The health watchdog NICE is telling doctors to suggest the operations to all patients above a given weight with type 2 diabetes.

If all those in that group took up the offer it would cost the NHS £12billion.

NICE hopes to treble the number of such procedures carried out by the health service to at least 15,000 a year – an extra annual outlay of £90million. The move comes as the NHS struggles to meet targets for what many would regard as more urgent operations.




Wouldn't it be a better use of money to educate people, to limit the number of takeaways and to put a high tax on shitty foods?

[Perkles]

excercise and diet should be the only target that the goverment spend money on,surgery is just ridiculous

[Monty]

What's the cost to the NHS for treating all the other obese related diseases? Not to mention all the benefits we pay out.

Obviously it would be a lot better if they didn't get fat in the first place, but I wouldn't be surprised if the 12 billion didn't offer better value.

[Monty]

Public Health England - The cost to the UK economy of overweight and obesity was estimated at £15.8 billion per year in 2007, including £4.2 billion in costs to the NHS.

[Mac]

The problem with the surgical approach is that it (surgery) is not permanent without accompanying lifestyle changes (the diet and exercise part). Case in point is my wife's BBW cousin, who used her inheritance to have gastric bypass surgery and for a while was the incredible shrinking woman, but has since blown back up like a tick that hit an artery because she was too lazy to change her poor habits that got her into obesity in the first place.

[Monty]

LOL tick that hit the artery!

Mac if we give you guys 12 billion will you take them? Or we could just swap them for Darren, sound fair?

[D41]

I'm very fickle about my diet...with high blood-pressure I have to be. But I've long stuck to the notion that "food is fuel"...nothing more, and if you live a sedentary lifestyle...which more & more people do the older they get...well, let's just say you don't fill your gas tank to drive across the street, do you??

Another thing is portions....we're brainwashed into thinking that more is better, and people buy into this theory and just gorge themselves when it's not necessary....when I cook, I'm pretty meticulous about portions....you want more, there'll be some left, but I don't stick it all right in someone's face.

Had an interesting convo with my Doc the other week....he made some comment or other on my weight...
"Doc, I'm 47, and I weigh the same weight as when I was 17".
"Darren, I wish I had more patients like that".
"How many do you have??"
"You, and maybe two others".

Yeah I know....I sound like a riot of a dinner party host, but it's really not that bad, 'cos if I'm cooking for a few people, there's usually multiple courses involved.....I usually do a four-course....two prepared in advance, and two done on-the-fly.....that's about as much as I can handle.

[duke63]

Half of the committee on NICE has financial links to pharmaceutical companies. I doubt the decisions they make are in the best interests of the patients or the NHS.

Its a ridiculous society we now live in where laziness, greed and not taking responsibility for yourself and your own actions are actually rewarded.

[D41]

Too true mate....hey, best advice I can give anyone is stay away from the frozen food aisles...that stuff is just junk....and I'm as guilty as anyone....I get frozen peas from there, and even frozen fries (making your own chips is kinda labor-intensive for what you get)....I bake just about everything....can't remember the last time I deep-fried sommit....but those frozen pizzas etc....ewww....might as well just chew on a cyanide capsule.


Bonus.....chicks love a guy who cooks.

[Kwacky]

I say we let them get clinically obese and leave them to it. It's a lifestyle choice. I would love to eat crappy food all the time. I could easily turn into Jabba.

[bb41]

I don't diet, never have done. I eat some bad things on the odd occasion.....but one thing I don't have is a freezer.

I bought 2 kids up on a budget so had to learn how to cook very quickly. I don't hit the gym but I do walk where I can and obviously exercise the dogs every day .

Everything in moderation , but most importantly no processed crap on a daily basis.

I do believe some people have a food addiction the same way as I have a smoking habit but I sure as hell don't think surgery is the way forward. Education, bring back compulsory PE and home economics in schools

[Kwacky]

Eating shit food makes you want to eat more. Your body realises it's not getting the vitamins and minerals it needs so it sends a signal to the brain to ask for more food.

[bb41]

This might sound strange but if I have a takeaway I get symptoms resembling a hangover the next day without having had a session the night before.

I feel lethargic and can't be bothered. The less i do the more likely I won't do anything. A vicious circle.

Kids aren't born liking only maccy D's ,if they were given more choice from a young age there food repertoire would be a lot better.

I used to mince up dinner for my two, store in little pots and feed them what we had but with no seasoning. A lot cheaper and far better.

This generation have become lazy, I dread to think how it will be they have grand children

[Perkles]

Balti is the way forward

[D41]

I don't diet, never have done. I eat some bad things on the odd occasion.....but one thing I don't have is a freezer.

I bought 2 kids up on a budget so had to learn how to cook very quickly. I don't hit the gym but I do walk where I can and obviously exercise the dogs every day .

Everything in moderation , but most importantly no processed crap on a daily basis.

I do believe some people have a food addiction the same way as I have a smoking habit but I sure as hell don't think surgery is the way forward. Education, bring back compulsory PE and home economics in schools

I like the fact you don't have a freezer.....I got rid of mine as soon as the She-Devil of the Dark Underworld moved out....I have a small one above my fridge...it holds ice, a bit of ice cream, and prolly a pack of peas....oh, and my half-yard of ale glass, frosting it up for an initial test run this weekend .....had it for years, might as well try it??

[beermonster]

Just for balance as there's a lot of ill informed stereotyping on this thread...I qualify for the surgery under this scheme (my BMI is over 30 and I have Type 2 diabetes). I also do 1 to 2 hours of cardiovascular exercise every single day and have maybe 1 takeaway every 3 months. I cook my own food, watch what I eat and have cut down on the ol' boozeroony (I probably drink about 20 units a week on average). I'm pretty fit, but technically 4 stone overweight. I'd love to wave a magic wand and lose the weight, but I know it ain't gonna happen....and no, I'm not going to take up the offer of a gastric band. I take responsibility for my weight, but no-one should be under any illusions that it's simply a matter of stopping eating takeaways for many people.

Different people have different genetics and different rates of burning fuel. As a matter of interest how many people on here smoke?

[Kwacky]

But you've decided to tackle your weight. I watched your transformation and it's pretty much a spectacular achievement. But as you've pointed out, it's not a quick fix.

[duke63]

Wife persuaded me to try her weightwatchers plan a couple of years ago. Its eye-opening on what our calorie intake should be and what we can/could consume.

And also how much energy we need to use up to work off the calories from certain snacks.

The missing thing in all this is education of what we can and can't eat and should and shouldn't eat.

A gastric band is not solving the problem...for anyone.

[beermonster]

I think the point I'm trying to make is that (like a lot of, but clearly not all, "fatties") my diet is actually pretty good. I never used to have many take aways before as I always preferred to cook my own food as I know what's in it and it tastes better. In order to lose any weight I have to do a level of exercise that most people would find impossible to sustain, and indeed I have never managed to.

The first time was when I was in 6th form and had to lose 3 and a half stone to qualify for the RAF which I managed by eating next to nothing and doing 2 x 3 mile runs every day, each one split 50% jogging, 50% fartlek where I'd sprint 30 seconds then jog 30 seconds. When I left home to move to Bristol I just couldn't sustain that and my work.

Then second time was when I first got the diabetes. I worked just round the corner from a David Lloyds gym and every work day I'd get to the pool and do a 40 length swim in about 21 minutes then 4 to 5 days I'd also do 3 and a half hours in the gym. When I moved sites I couldn't keep this going.

I'm now visually impaired and have had to give up driving. I either walk 3 - 10 miles a day or cycle 10 to 20 miles per day or a combination of them. I do this every single day without exception (apart from 2 days when I had a serious gastric episode. I haven't got a choice so I'm having to lump it, but I can assure you it's fookin' hard work.


Will I keep it going for good? I can't answer that...it's getting increasingly difficult as the weather turns worse and the days get shorter, but I'm going to have to do something. I've got a turbo trainer so that might be an option (boring as hell though!) or I may have to resort to joining a gym.

[D41]

You're right....the thread has wandered from the OP, which referred to overweight people with diabetes, simply down to overweight people....big difference, can't argue with that.

I smoke.....been a pack-a-day guy all my life until the last year or so....again, ciggy's are bad for the blood pressure, and I've just naturally slowed down on them....pack might last me three days now...and it's not a big deal to me.....sure, sometimes I might have an ice cream bar instead of my "last ciggy of the night"....but ice cream is cool, and I'm a feckin' rake anyway......5'10"ish, 10.5 stone.