By the way ... Calling children obese will save lives

IT IS difficult talking to the parents of obese children about their size, not least because all too often they, too, are overweight, and nothing is gained if the discussion feels like an attack on them.

But that doesn’t mean we should avoid confronting difficult or painful issues. However, this week Public Health England has issued new guidance advising healthcare professionals to avoid using the term obese when talking to parents: instead, doctors and nurses should talk about the importance of a ‘healthier lifestyle’.

When I heard this it had a damaging effect on my health and wellbeing, as my blood pressure soared. If using the word obese hurts feelings, it’s because it opens a conversation into a deadly serious subject, and making deviations into gentle Public Health England-derived terminology is hardly likely to help.

Imagine the situation: ‘I went to see the nurse today about Mimi being so out of breath on the stairs, and after she weighed her the nurse told me that Mimi needs to achieve healthier weight status, so that’s OK then’. This achieves nothing.

The only guidelines that those of us caring for patients need are enshrined in the four pillars of medical ethics. Autonomy — allow patients, once informed, to do as they decide, it is their responsibility. Beneficence: be kind but give all of the relevant facts, with straight-talking. Non-maleficence: do not be nasty about it — avoid being accusatory. Justice: be fair, but tell them how it is and advise about all available recommended resources that might be helpful.

Obesity is where someone is so fat it will have a negative effect on their health: you are obese when you are 20 per cent heavier than you should be. Public Health England is well aware of the fact that an astonishing third of children between the ages of two and 15 are obese, doubling their risk of an early death and giving them a seven times greater chance of type 2 diabetes.

Beating about the bush to let people off lightly and enable them to avoid the truth is unethical and downright irresponsible. What

Public Health England up to?