- Have you been classified as ‘at risk’ even though you are healthy?
- Discover why this common diagnosis is a major con
- Find out why all calories are not created equal
Dear <NAME>
Tomorrow I will be arming myself against danger.
Face mask to the fore, hand gel by the gallon and a determined look of ‘don’t mess with me’ on my face.
I have to go to see my GP for the annual check up…
These sessions have become something of a ritual between us, but it’s never one I particularly enjoy.
I did my fasting blood test last week and will go in to have my BP taken in the surgery and then three things always happen:
- He’ll tell me that I’m overweight (even though I’ve lost a stone since last year).
- He’ll tell me my cholesterol and blood sugar levels are higher than he would like to see them (even though they’ve been at the same level for the last eight years).
- He’ll tell me that my BP is too high (even though it has always been 140/85 even when I played rugby three times a week).
This will be a precursor to him advising me that I am pre-diabetic and need to take statins.
And that will make me explode once again!
The con of pre-diabetes
I own a Welsh rugby top, so am I a pre-squad member?
I drive a car, rather well as it happens, which must make me a pre-Grand Prix winner?
Plus I’ve just bought a lottery ticket and now, therefore, a pre-millionaire…
…this seems to be the logic behind his description of ‘pre-diabetes’ but it is not one I hold any truck with.
This logic is flawed and damaging and could make things worse for me in the long run – so how does my doc see it?
Well he says that for someone of my age, body weight and raised blood sugar and cholesterol levels that I’m at a heightened risk of developing diabetes… and so I should be taking a prophylactic dose of metformin to control all of this.
He actually wants me to take prescripted drugs when there is absolutely nothing wrong with me!
I don’t have any symptoms, I don’t feel unwell (and haven’t darkened his doors for the entire year!) and I am active and on a good balanced diet… but it won’t stop him.
He’ll get his coloured chart out which will show that my Body Mass Index is in the amber/red zone and he’ll tell me that it’s bad news.
When I’m at Twickenham tomorrow I will be watching men who are fitter than most on the planet, powerful and athletic in build and movement – and each of them with a BMI which would tip into the same bracket as me.
Do you imagine that their coaches are telling them they need to lose weight and take a diabetic drug at half-time?
What we are fast becoming subject to is lazy medicine – the policy of taking individual measurements and factoring them together to add up to a prescription:
BP+LDL(-HDL)+Kg’s/cm=Pill
And let’s not forget whose interest this is in. Is it an overworked underfunded NHS?.. No it’s not them.
Is it then an ageing and poorly supported population?.. No, it’s not them either.
Well then could it possibly be the shareholders of global drug giants?.. Do you know I think you might be onto something there!
The whole thing is a scandal of scaremongering and public misdirection.
Big numbers and bad choices
No-one doubts the fact that as a nation we are getting heavier, and that carrying a bit of excess weight is becoming the norm.
In addition we all know that we should avoid the perils of becoming overly fat and that we need to take care in what we eat and the levels at which we exercise.
I promise you that I am no crusader for an unhealthy lifestyle or a believer that all the information we are given is wrong – however, I think there is a growing trend in people trying to simplify the situation and making victims of those who need help.
By simply saying that someone is too fat and that subsequent health issues are as a direct result is both unfair and wrong, plus by getting them to focus on eating fewer calories won’t change the situation… and could lead to further harm.
In the last few weeks arthritis, cancer and heart disease have all been directly linked to calorie intake in the media.
But this ignores the real issue.
It’s not about how MANY calories you eat, but WHERE you get them from.
If you ate 1,000 calories in the form of a nice piece of grilled mackerel with a tomato, onion and feta cheese salad lashed in olive oil it would be better for you than the same number of calories from a burger and chips with a cola drink.
Which was why I was heartened (forgive the pun!) by a report published in the Postgraduate Medical Journal a few days ago where they concluded that a Mediterranean diet reduced the risk of health problems.
Signatories of the piece included the chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Prof Terence Stephenson, and Dr Mahiben Maruthappu, who has a senior role at NHS England.
In the report they rightly criticise the weight-loss industry for focusing on calorie restriction rather than ‘good nutrition’.
It’s just a pity that they didn’t go further and extend this criticism to our GPs, politicians and media too.
The real culprits behind an increasingly obese nation are food manufacturers and retailers, especially the fast food outlets who load their drinks, food and even salads with huge amounts of hidden sugar.
Sugar is the root of this problem especially that which is used to cover up poor quality food – that’s what needs to be tackled.
I can only hope that this situation gets a little more research once this dreaded virus is under control.
