Obesity epidemic puts strain on doctors

A QUARTER of the population is obese but doctors and nurses are not getting enough support in tackling the problem, an independent GP group has claimed.

Chairman of GP Now (National Organisation for Weight Control), Dr John O’Riordan, said some doctors were so overwhelmed by the obesity problem in their area that they found it easier not to get involved because the support structures they needed were not there.

Dr O’Riordan, who was the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) representative on the National Taskforce on Obesity, said more must be done across all government departments to prevent the exponential rise in obesity.

While he accepted a start had been made in implementing the recommendations made by the taskforce two years ago, it was being left to GP NOW, an independent doctors’ group, to try and fill the gap.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has appointed four community dieticians, specialists in obesity, to aid co-ordination of efforts in treating the overweight persons and two new obesity clinics are being established in Galway and Cork.

Dr O’Riordan pointed out that a number of primary care teams had been established around the country so that doctors would have access to more nurses, physiotherapists and dieticians but they were not being rolled out nationally as promised.

“As regards providing the kind of structures needed in primary care to deal with the problem, nothing much has happened,” said Dr O’Riordan.

GP Now intended keeping the pressure on the Government to instigate the national taskforce recommendations speedily.

The level of obesity in the Irish population was 10% in 1990; 18% in 2000 and is now believed to be in the region of 25%.

“We are currently behind the US and showing exactly the same graph in terms of exponential growth in obesity and overweight. It is not something for a five-year plan. It needs to be instigated now,” he said.

He pointed out that a 10% weight loss for someone who was overweight would reduce mortality by 20%, diabetes by 30% and obesity-related deaths by 40%.

Dr O’Riordan said there had been no move made to educate doctors and nurses in general practice on managing the problem.

“It is not just about putting people on diets; it is about methods and strategies of supporting them in trying to make behavioural lifelong choices,” he said.

Doctors need to learn to deal with a patient and be confident in what they are prescribing in terms of exercise and diet.

It could be counter-productive for a doctor to tell patients that their weight was going to cause illness. Patients did not want to talk about obesity but were quite happy to talk about weight, he explained.