By the way ... Obese people could learn from my brother

MY BROTHER, an anaesthetist, has lost more than 4 st this year — simply by walking 20,000 steps every day.

This was no easy task, given his busy life, but it has worked, and he is no longer a lardy lump and is now a slim so-and-so like me.

But not everyone is this self-motivated. I was interested to see new research from Oxford University last week showing that, when GPs confront obese patients about their weight, and then refer them to Weight Watchers, they slim down more effectively than when left to diet on their own.

From my experience, doctors can be rather poor at persuading patients to change their behaviour, whether it’s to make effective long-term changes to lose weight, exercise regularly or, most importantly, to stop smoking. These can be difficult subjects to broach, particularly if the patient has come to see us about a seemingly unrelated health problem.

And as anyone who has tried to slim down knows, it’s all too easy for people to make excuses. Time and again, I’ve heard patients say that slimming clubs haven’t worked for them, or that they are so busy rushing about at work all day that they don’t need to exercise.

But the message for doctors from the Oxford study is that, instead of beating about the bush, we should tell our patients straight: ‘You are fat and this will lead to an early death’ — and not worry about offending them.

It is sage advice and, in a curious way, it has parallels with another instruction that doctors were given just last week.

New guidelines from the Royal College of Surgeons say that clinicians must take greater care to warn patients of all risks of a particular treatment, as well as the alternatives, before they undergo the procedure. It’s a sentiment I agree with. Yes, doctors should confront their patients head-on about the risks they face if they do not change their behaviour, outlining the dangers of excess weight, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle.

But, ultimately, as the new guidelines for surgeons underline, only the patients themselves can decide what they are going to do.