Major benefits of weight reduction
THE Welsh Assembly and Public Health Wales is to be congratulated for the actions being taken to limit sugary drinks, and for other relevant health promoting actions.
The best background evidence in Wales on lifestyle and disease is the large 40-year study in Caerphilly. This showed clearly that overweight is the major factor in the development of diabetes, and an important factor in heart disease, stroke and dementia.
It is commendable that these findings in Caerphilly are extensively used in health education and publicity about a healthy behaviours and the reduction of disease risk. But why, oh why does much of the publicity in Wales only mention four healthy behaviours and not five?
Granted, overweight is not a “behaviour”, but what stupid pedantry! Dietary and exercise are the relevant behaviours, but neither can be measured accurately and most people estimate their food intake and their exercise level unrealistically and favourably to their own self image.
Do let us be frank with the public, whom we serve. Overweight and obesity are the fastest growing threat to health and disease risk in Wales and beyond, particularly, but not only to diabetes. Body mass index (BMI) is an easily measured and accurate surrogate measure for the combined effect of dietary intake and exercise level together.
Let posters and all health education throughout Wales (and beyond) include , even major on overweight and the benefits of weight reduction and let the use of BMI be actively and extensively promoted throughout Wales. BMI can be easily estimated by any clinic, doctor, nurse, pharmacist, healthcare worker or exercise trainer, if they have simply a tape measure, a body weight scale and a very simple knowledge of arithmatic and its level is very strongly related to health and the risk of disease and death. Peter Elwood, Director of the 40-year Caerphilly Research Study