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Friday 18 July 2008

Yes, I know what's not good for me (The Times)

I have a piece in today's Times about Prof Ian Gilmore's claim this weekend that: “There is,” he said, “no doubt at all that many people are drinking significantly more than they realise. People are aware of units, they want to stay within safe limits, but they are being pushed up way over those limits by just not realising what they are drinking.”

Here's an extract:

Are you a porker? Do you get through a bottle of rioja every night?

You poor dear. I feel so sorry for you. You see, it's not your fault. You might be knocking back a dozen glasses of wine and then stuffing a couple of Big Macs down your throat, but you've no say in the matter. You're just a pawn in big business's game. You're a naive little (well, not so little) innocent, all at sea in the world of nasty bars and fast- food outlets.

That, it seems, is the view of Ian Gilmore, the president of the Royal College of Physicians. According to Professor Gilmore, most people are morons. Dunces. Ignoramuses. Inadequates who are too stupid to take any responsibility for their own lives.

...Yes, he really does think that we are all too stupid to notice the difference between a 125ml glass and a 250ml glass. Has there ever been a more typical example of the patronising, superior attitude of the medical profession?

...Since marrying last year I have put on a stone and a half. Not that I am in any way responsible for this. It is entirely my wife's fault. She cooks a variety of delicious meals and presents them to me on the plate.

In the absence of legislation preventing Mrs P from cooking for me, I have no choice in the matter. If Professor Gilmore is to be believed I am a helpless pawn, able only to consume what I am given and too thick to realise I've been eating more than before.

Is it any wonder obesity and binge drinking are on the rise when the likes of Professor Gilmore are blaming not the people who eat and drink too much, but the people who provide them with food and drink? I am overweight because I've been eating too much and exercising too little. And I'll thank Professor Gilmore to hold me responsible for the error of my ways.

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