13.01.15
Healthcare workers need more training to help tackle obesity
GPs and frontline healthcare workers struggle to engage patients on the topic of weight and need additional training, the National Obesity Forum has warned.
NHS chief executive Simon Stevens set out plans in December for a national programme to prevent type-2 diabetes and reduce obesity levels but the National Obesity Forum believes that without additional training the NHS England programme could be ineffective.
A new report from the charity claims that healthcare professionals often struggle to engage patients on the topic of weight and without training this will remain an issue. Additionally better access to specialist services is needed to help tackle the problem.
The National Obesity Forum report has been released to coincide with National Obesity Awareness Week, which runs from 12-18 January.
The report also calls for an ‘obesity tsar’ to drive joined up working across government.
Other recommendations in the report include increased support for treatment options for patients who are already obese, a call for urgent work by government departments to address the rising cost of healthy food products, and the routine weighing of pregnant patients. The National Obesity Forum has additionally urged political parties to heed the outcomes of an imminent Health Select Committee enquiry on physical activity and diet.
Figures published last month by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development concluded that the UK has the highest obesity levels in Europe after Hungary, while the National Child Measurement Programme found in December 2014 that a third of 10-11 year olds are overweight or obese. Data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre also suggests UK obesity levels have doubled in the last two decades, with one in four now being considered obese.
Professor David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum and a member of the NHE editorial board, said: “Simon Stevens claimed last year that obesity represents a slow-motion car crash for the health of the country and for the NHS. The data backs that up, but GPs and other professionals expected to help patients with their weight must be given the support and training they need. While it’s important to talk to patients about their weight, it’s a sensitive topic and without additional training or the availability of specialist services, the NHS England plans could fall flat. The RCGP has called in the past for more training of GPs on how to address weight management. That call must be heeded.”
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