How would you feel if your GP kept sending you messages encouraging you to eat less and lose weight?

I have a liver that doesn’t metabolise some painkillers efficiently - sadly the ones I have to take for arthritis - so have have regular LFTs. It was suggested to me, by a practice nurse who hadn’t read my notes, that I was lying about my alcohol intake. Obviously I was really upset and refused to be seen by him again. I know how I’d feel if I got a text or email from my new practice suggesting that I was an alcoholic ...

I read an article in yesterday's newspaper about this proposal. I don't think it will have any effect to be honest. If someone is determined to drink too me CH,smoke or eat a dreadful diet,it will take more than texts from their doctor to make them reconsider their 'lifestyle choices'.
What I found more worrying was an article on the same page about 'mass appointments' for patients. The idea is that you have a 'group appointment' with up to 14 other people. The idea is to save money and doctors' time. Sufferers of long-term conditions such as diabetes,arthritis and asthma will be invited to the group sessions to discuss their care. The 2 hour appointments would be led by admin staff or healthcare assistants,and the doctor would attend for an hour to discuss tests and treatments.
For a start,I don't like the sound of 'typically led by admin staff'. What does that mean? Someone who has no medical training such as the practice receptionist?! It goes on to say that patients would have to sign a 'confidentiality waiver' to make sure they don't discuss other people's ailments afterwards. Really? They think that's going to work? Sorry,but I think the idea is awful and really can't see it working.

Spangle there is another thread on this very subject of these groups. I started that one as well and I share all your fears.

I don’t think it would work at all .....maybe in Germany, or China, North Korea etc but definitely not here!
We don’t respond to being told what to do.

To be honest I would be happy if a doctor nagged one of my DDs. She must be headed towards 25 stone and is only 5' 2". She said when she saw the doctor he suggested a free 12 week gym membership. As if that is going to help a morbidly obese person. I am seriously concerned as she has 5 children and I am worried she wont see the age of 40 if she doesnt do something about her weight soon. I am sure it won't be taken well if I express my concerns but someone has to say something.

For one thing how would GPS under pressure already and in short supply have time to do this? I have some health issues, one of which is hypothyroidism, I do have a weight problem Mad worse by this condition and would appreciate some proper help with it but this won't be found at our GPS. There's nobody there on a regular basis and certainly they don't know enough about the condition to help/can't afford to,prescribe more appropriate meds etc. Phew sorry rant over. ?

I would hate to get that kind of message from my GP; getting them from the hair dresser is bad enough. Fat shaming seems fashionable at the moment. What worries me though are the overweight children I see. Their parents must be feeding them too much of the wrong food: a form of abuse in my opinion.

I think it is an excellent idea.

Is this a Government suggestion or does it emanate from another source?

I am amused at how many on here justify or at least try to minimise their own bad habits because the medics treating them are in a similar position! If they were slim & teetotal people would say " It's OK for them they don't understand how hard it is" ....

Well, I said my GP is obese and I didn't think he had the right. I'm not using him to excuse my own bad habits as I am not overweight.

I'd feel a bit peeved as I'm no longer overweight, don't smoke and rarely drink.

Patticake123 Well done to you. I feel that rather than nagging texts from the GP, free or reduced fee access to gyms would be better, At the gym I attend large folk are welcomed and gently encouraged to persevere with exercise and good eating habits. I am not overweight but do have to work quite hard to stay that way. We have recently spent a week away in Hurghada and were dismayed by the huge number of vastly overweight folk sitting around drinking and smoking all day. I would prefer the tax I pay to be spent on education rather than haveing to treat folk with self induced medical problems.

Text back “new phone who dis”

Maybe GP's should be targetting hospital staff with their nagging messages - last time I was waiting for an out-patient appt. a few weeks back it was all too apparent that many of the uniformed staff were like hippos. And when you see that amongst health "professionals" you just get a wee bit cynical.

Well I think it's an excellent idea. The point is SOMETHING has got to be done about the awful level of obesity in this country. It's a massive drain on the NHS with all the associated diseases being fat can lead to.

It really horrifies me to see just how many very overweight people there are around these days.

To those who object to this proposal I would just like to ask - what would you suggest should happen?

Let's face it, the facts are simple - if we consume more calories in food than we expend in energy by moving we will gain weight.

Therefore, of course the reverse is true.

I have got no time whatsoever for those who claim they can't lose weight.

Jennifereccles It is all very well to say something needs to be done, but if that something will only alienate the people it is sent to what is the point of doing it?

Most people I know who should lose weight or drink less or take more exercise would either ignore these messages or go out and buy themselves some chips because they resent being hectored in the unimaginative didactic manner these types of messages are worded.

How do you help people lose weight? There is no easy answer. The energy in/energy out balance you state is out of date. Modern research has shown that at every level that this simplistic notion is inaccurate. The reasons for over eating - or not -are complex and include psychological factors including depression and a sexual and other abuse in childhood. Some people are on medication for other illnesses and these cause weight gain. Others have illnesses, like polycystic ovary syndrome that can cause weight gain. In recent years research has shown that the way different people metabolise the food they eat varies in efficiency and some people's bodies squeeze every calorie out of every mouthful of food they eat, where in others much of it goes through the digestive system far less efficiently. The causes are various including the individual's genes, the micro biome in their gut and elsewhere in their body and many other reasons.

What would help would be bringing back cookery and nutrition lessons into all schools from nursery up. Serve children well balanced school meals and get them involved on why their school meal met the best nutrition requirements and more than anything teach them to cook, properly, school lessons should be about the pleasure of food, how it is produced, and how it is processed and so on.

For the now-obese, help needs to be tailored to the individual, for some it will be Slimming World or exercise classes on prescription, others will need psychological help, others will benefit from cookery classes with others like them, young mothers, or older people or single people.

Garnet- why should our money pay for free access to gyms?
If overweight people want to go to a gym then they should pay for it themselves. There are plenty of ways of exercising that cost nothing.
Some of my clients have had free gym sessions. They go when it’s free and then stop when it comes to an end. They can afford to come to me, a beauty therapist, and go out for meals so IMO they can afford to pay for a gym.

We have recently spent a week away in Hurghada and were dismayed by the huge number of vastly overweight folk sitting around drinking and smoking all day
I had to look up Hurghada
However, may I ask if these were locals, British tourists or other foreign tourists?
We've just spent a week away and I saw very few vastly overweight people and very few who were smoking - in fact I think I only saw one person smoking at our hotel.

I cringe if I am abroad and some family comes towards me scantily dressed and all obese or over weight. I just hope they are not from the UK....but they usually are.

Some of my children are GPs and they say constantly, “ Mum, people come through the door, complaining about their knees, backs, breathlessness but we can’t be blunt” . We have to pussyfoot around them and it is so frustrating “
They are in the condition that they are, because they are obese....
Obesity is caused mainly through over eating. I understand It’s not easy to exercise and keep slimmish and mobile. I know because I struggle myself. However, its costing the NHS a vast amount of money.
And It’s preventable, hard, yes..and difficult, but preventable.

Sounds like an excellant way for the doctor to make the patients depressed.
Then they can issue more medication

If you saw a lot of overweight people in Hurghada, they were probably locals. Egypt has one of the highest obesity rates in the world. stepfeed.com/adult-obesity-in-egypt-is-the-highest-in-the-world-4967

M0nica I have looked for more info on this idea but google has let me down & not found anything.. do you recall where this idea came from?

Why are GPs having to pussy foot, sylvia? Is it a policy thing?

I read about it in the i or Observer. Someone else mentioned hearing about it on the other thread I started on peppy little emails from your GP about losing weight or eating better.

grr, I hate self-posting posts.

The system had been trialed in the north-east. I think Newcastle was specifically mentioned and it said that patients were very enthusiastic.

PECS I googled 'GP Group consultations' and 'group consultations in primary care. I got a lot of press references under the first search and this www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/releasing-capacity-in-general-practice/documents/2-4-group-consultations-evidence-summary-elc among others on the second search.