No Such Thing As Obesity Epidemic - PM
July 31st 2006
There is no such thing as an obesity epidemic, the Prime Minister said yesterday. 
Outlining his views on public health, Mr Blair claimed many of society’s health problems were "not, strictly speaking, public health problems at all".
In a speech trailed as calling for individual responsibility for health, Mr Blair blamed obesity, diabetes, smoking and alcohol abuse on individual lifestyles.
He said: "These are not epidemics in the epidemiological sense - they are the result of millions of individual decisions, at millions of points in time."
He said Labour would not seek to prevent individuals getting treatment from the NHS for self-inflicted problems but added: "It does mean that government has to play an active role in precisely the way the enabling state should work and that is empowering people, setting the conditions in which they can choose responsibly."
He told his audience in Nottingham - sponsored by local pharmacy giant Boots: "Ten per cent of NHS resources today are used to treat diabetes. By 2010 the estimate is that this could double.
"That’s 20 per cent of the entire resources of the NHS - and it’s avoidable. Three quarters of diabetics are Type 2 diabetics, and two thirds of them have a disease which could be preventable with exercise, diet and more healthy choices."
He went on: "If millions of children are not eating the right food and not getting enough exercise then it’s not just a million individual problems, it’s a collective problem that will require us all to work together, including government."
But the Royal College of Nursing said health workers were playing a key role in improving the nation’s health - partly by helping people change from unhealthy lifestyles.
RCN general secretary Dr Beverley Malone,pictured, said: "The RCN fully supports the Prime Ministers emphasis on the promotion of better health but is disappointed that he failed to acknowledge the significant role that health care workers have played in improving the nation’s health.
"Nurses in particular are leading and delivering innovative services in many of the key areas identified by the Prime Minister. These include nurse led sexual health clinics, initiatives to help people quit smoking and services to tackle alcohol abuse.
"The government must value NHS staff and recognise the expertise that already exists."
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