Michael Buerk. Is obesity a disease?

There are definitely medications that can cause weight gain.

Also an under active thyroid can cause weight gain and make weight loss very difficult indeed.

I agree that the majority are overweight due to lifestyle but there is a percentage who can't do much about it

So who do we target after fat people ?

the obese should be allowed to die an early death in order to save the NHS money

To play devils advocate - what about anorexics? Or other eating disorders? Surely they could eat if they wanted to? Are they to be seen as making the wrong choices like the obese?

And what about some cancers? Lets say a smoker gets lung cancer - shall we just shuffle them off to save the NHS money?

And god forbid you get Alzeheimers - but as you don't remember much anyway you're a prime candidate for money saving !!

The article is attention grabbing and poor journalism in my opinion and just another way to have a pop at the obese .

An undeeactive thyroid can A. Make people more lethargic & move less and B. Make people crave "energy boost" foods. Its a HUGE challenge and often an impossible one until the endocrine issues are resolved

But it still wont CREATE weight gain out if nowhere if calories in dont exceed calories out.

Notanan! That's not true at all. UAT causes problems with metabolism. Once on the correct medication the weight gain stops but it's not always that easy to lose any gained weight.

Also many people, they reckon about 15-20% aren't being treated effectively because we only supply T4 medication and some people can't convert so the symptoms don't disappear. They need T3 to be added, whether that is in the form of synthetic or natural. But in the UK they stopped prescribing natural meds in the 1970s. This product was garnered from pigs and contains T4 and T3 which tends to work very well.

There was a hullabaloo about the price of T3 and they had wanted to knock it off the NHS but have relented as for some people it's a life saver.

But it's nothing to do with calorie intake.

This weight gain is absolutely nothing to do with exercise nor calories.

Here's a quote from the NHS website. I can't emphasise enough that it's due to the under active thyroid that the weight goes on. This is what hurts people. People who are stuck with an auto immune disease that's not their fault and they get told that it's because they've eaten too much.

An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) means your thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormones, which play a central role in regulating your metabolism. Although an underactive thyroid can occur at any age and in either sex, it is most common in older women. It slows your metabolism. You can be eating exactly the same as always. Exercising the same. And suddenly you're gaining weight.

"Without enough thyroid hormone, the body's metabolism slows down, which can lead to weight gain," says dietitian Catherine Collins. The condition is usually treated with daily hormone-replacement tablets, called levothyroxine.

""It slows your metabolism. You can be eating exactly the same as always. Exercising the same. And suddenly you're gaining weight.""

That was my comment. No idea how it stuck with the quote.

I'm slightly overweight, maybe half a stone. I consider it to be my fault. Since retiring I don't get enough exercise. I do watch what I eat mostly. Unless it's due to a medical condition or medication, I believe it's possible to keep weight down, although I know it's hard. There are lots of things we can't do anything about, and believe me I've got other problems, but I think weight can be controlled.

Its a judgement call by the author and nothing more- He could have, if he hadn't already, ranted about all the medical problems drinking causes- But it's ok to be skinny and drink your liver into necrotic oblivion-

Weight is a very emotive issue.
The weight of a man where I used to work almost caused wars.
"He has hardly eaten a thing!"
He had cereal followed by toast every single day.
"He didn't eat dinner!"
He had upwards of 15 cups of tea every day, and staff would give him 2 or 3 biscuits with every cup, even hiding the fact that they were doing it.
"He is a man, they need a lot of food!"
He doesn't actually do much physical activity.
"But he's massive! Really big"
He is actually about five foot six, so rather small.
"He's hyperactive though!"
He jumps from sofa to sofa occasionally, making a lot of noise, then falls asleep after five or six minutes.

Oh yes. MissAdventure. I've seen pts saying exactly the same thing and upon leaving the hospital stopping off at Costa or whatever. Plenty of those about. But for an unfortunate few it's a reality that can cause huge problems. Cushings is another that causes weight gain. Quite rare but it happens.

Minniemoo a "slow metabolosm" means moving less and having low energy which makes you crave quick high energy foods. It still amounts to the same thing.

Metabolism isnt a fixed number. It is how you use energy.

Medicine can only do so much because here is the real crux, these conditions that make it harder to maintain weight are also exacerbated by weight gain! So it is not helpful to see weight gain as inevitable and uncontrollable on these meds/conditions.

Yes, it makes it 20 times harder, but equally 20 times more important to try to keep some control over intake and try to build up movement on the days when you can. That might mean walking as far as the end of your drive on a "good" day because thats as far as you can get, but it still HELPS.

It was actually rapid weight gain and suddenly reduced mobility due to another illness that caused my tyroid to stop functioning normally.

Your "metabolism" is controlled by what you to do your body Your glands respond to that. Its all connected.

Your thyroid does not function in isolation.

And sometimes it does need to be totally removed and sometimes it can be controlled by medication but you wont get "better" without also managing lifestyle.

Fat changes your hormone profile.

So when all you want to do is pick up a quick unhealthy ready made snack or meal because you are wiped out due to your condition... that snacking on convenience food will just make your condition harder to manage. Its not just the meds or the condition causing the weight gain

You can change your metabolism right now by getting up and moving. Or by eating something sugary.

Why is it that some people make excuses for an unhealthy lifestyle by pointing a finger at other unhealthy lifestyles.

'Yes, I'm overweight but what about smokers/drinkers/anorexics etc?' is a cop out. Surely these are all issues that need addressing in their own right?

When I passed my driving test my father said, 'You'll have to watch your weight now!' As a fashion mad teenager in the mini skirt era I was always watching my weight but I totally got what he meant.

Leaving illness and medication etc., aside, I think it's wrong to cast around for reasons why it's impossible to eat more healthily and get more exercise. Surely everyone has the means to be responsible for their own health? It's not as though the information and support isn't out there.

Exactly merlot

Underactive thyroid can also cause the organs to become waterlogged - I know someone who needed a hysterectomy and the surgeon needed to cut the uterus etc into pieces to enable him to remove it.
The T3 cost and prescribing is still a problem as many people are unable to have a NHS prescription. The cost rose from £9 a month to over £300 for no apparent reason. This drug is available in other countries for £5 a month. What is wrong with U.K. and who is making money out of it.

I just read some of this guys writing....laughable.

Yes, I'm obese. Spent the first 55 years of my life skinny, model skinny. I was 5'9" tall and could wear anything. Then menopause. ouch. 100 pounds later and I can't wear anything! Moving is hard...but I do. I often refer to myself as the hardest working fat person you'll ever meet!

No, I don't overeat, nor stupid, I can see the food on my plate. oh, yeh, before menopause, I could eat anything/amount I wanted and not gain a pound! Now, I have to watch every bite. (Often feeling like I watch it go directly from my fork to my hips!)

I do have some physical issues...arthritis in both knees, which came before the weight gain. but, I'm still out gardening everyday, I just can't run a marathon!

Do I think I should die early to save humanity from my scourge? Laughable. We can't start thinking like that, who knows what 'disease' they'll single out to kill off next.

Do I like this fat body? NO! Is there much I can do about it...not so far...I've tried.

I do not believe the really obese people got that way by eating too much, or by eating the wrong foods. I'm no expert but I believe there is some other underlying cause that makes them that way. Either genetic, or something else.

Michael Beurke makes good money by writing stupid controversial things like that.

yeah and some of us don't have good days where we can walk to the end of the drive and back. In my dreams. That's why I use a wheelchair. Not so others can take the piss or talk over my head but because standing up let alone attempting to walk makes me scream in pain. On top of that get up from the sofa without help is impossible, so it's not just my legs it's also my shoulders, elbows and hands that cause excruciating pain. I have to be helped into bed and once in can't move without help. Walk a mile in my shoes, it'll be the furthest those shoes have been in years. Gawd some people really do live in their tiny little bubble and cant even see out of it. Thing is I'm actually a happy little soul, I've accepted my life has changed beyond recognition and my world is now very tiny but hey I don't whinge and whine I just try to make others consider how fortunate they are if only they could see past their own shortsightedness.

It’s an argument that just goes around and around, I’m definitely fatter than I’d like to be, but after a lifetime of dieting, I’ve given it up, I consider I eat fairly healthily, but if I fancy a bowl of ice cream, or a piece of cake, I’ll have it

I’m sure certain illnesses and conditions contribute to weight gain, but basically I feel if you eat too much you’ll get fat

Flexiblefriend

That sounds so awful, what a lot to cope with. If I were in your shoes, I think my weight would be the least of my concerns

Some people are just naturally thin.

My dear mother had a sweet tooth (which I did not inherit) and had an amazing metabolism which meant she could eat as much as she liked and never put on a pound. She prided herself on maintaining exactly the same weight (apart from during her pregnancies) from the age of 15 til 96.

Unfortunately I did not inherit her wonderful metabolism. I only have to look at food and I'm sudden;y fatter.

My Mum was lovely. She did occasionally comment that it would be nice if I was thinner, but she was not judgemental.

Unfortunately there are some folk with my Mum's fortunate metabolism who simply do not understand how difficult it is for the rest of us. Perhaps Michael Buerk is one of them.

The people I know who can eat what they like don't tend to eat anywhere near as much as greedy people like me.

I read the article in the Times today. Apparently there is scientific evidence to support his claim that the obese, smokers and topers(?) actually save the country money by dying earlier.

Healthy people are the costliest.

Tim Worstall of the Adam Smith Institute has called warnings of the obesity crisis poses an NHS funding crisis as “nonsense on stilts” Having us all slim... would cost the NHS very much more money than the current level of topers, smokers and lard buckets does.
His words.... not mine

^Tim Worstall of the Adam Smith Institute has called warnings of the obesity crisis poses an NHS funding crisis as “nonsense on stilts” Having us all slim... would cost the NHS very much more money than the current level of topers, smokers and lard buckets does.
His words.... not mine^

Why? How would it do that?