Obesity> Module 1

Attitude & Causes

Assess your own attitude

Here are three commonly expressed attitudes to patients who are obese. None of these statements is supposed to be the correct answer, and you may agree or disagree with them to different extents. Use the sliders to reflect on how much you agree or disagree with each statement.

Slide the markers to indicate to what extent you agree with these statements and then submit to see some discussion:

1. Obesity is concentrated among people from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and we have a duty to address this health issue

Disagree
Agree

2. Obesity is self-inflicted and the tax-paying public should not have to pay for their care

Disagree
Agree

3. If people over-eat that is their choice, not my problem

Disagree
Agree

A recent survey of UK doctors’ attitudes to patients who smoke or are obese, found 54% of doctors favoured rationing of NHS services.

Other healthcare professionals express more liberal attitudes towards self-determination by patients. However, we need to compare this to our attitude to assisting patients address other health behaviours, such as smoking, alcohol, sexual health and drugs.

The fact is that, for most people, obesity is a product of the environment that they live in. In the words of Professor Jebb, Oxford University,

"People don't choose to be obese. It just happens for a number of reasons. We should stop blaming people for being fat and instead support them in controlling their weight. We've all got the potential to be fat. In the environment we live in, it's easy to overeat and be less active. Some people need to work harder than others at keeping weight gain in check."

Prof Susan Jebb, Oxford