Fat children are fuelling the NHS crisis, not the elderly, leading doctor claims

The Telegraph ^ | 2/9/17 | Laura Donnelly

[markomalley]

Fat children, not the elderly, are fuelling the NHS crisis, a leading doctor has said.

Lord McColl of Dulwich, a former surgeon, said "grotesque" changes to the nation's diet were putting needless pressures on health services.

The intervention came as leaked documents showed Accident & Emergency patients in England experienced the worst month of delays this winter in the 13 years since the four-hour target was introduced.

Provisional data passed to the BBC says a record number of patients spent longer than the target time waiting to be seen in A&E in January.

[markomalley]

Prepare for this Lord McColl to be utterly destroyed by "body positivity" SJW's.

[Tax-chick]

Either his facts are accurate, or they’re not. The NHS should be able to run the numbers.
(Famous last words.)

[Ransomed]

75 years ago it would have been something out of science fiction that in parts of the West the poorest are now the most likely to be obese. It’s never happened before, right? I wonder what that means for the possibility of any type of sustained civil unrest.

Freegards

[Drew68]

I realize this is the UK but there's no shortage of fat kids in America as well.

It's a simple explanation. With both parents working, there's less time to prepare healthy meals, junk food is cheaper than ever, and nobody lets their kids play outside anymore. The parents all say they're scared of sex offenders despite the fact that statistically it's safer than ever.

I'll kick my two boys, 6 and 8, outside every chance I get. I tell them to go ride their bikes, stick together, and don't come back until it's dark. They often have a hard time finding other kids to play with. Most of the children in the neighborhood their ages have structured free time under the watchful eyes of their parents who won't let them venture past the front yard.

[mewzilla]

'Distressed' elderly woman, 89, occupied an NHS bed for 6 MONTHS at a cost of £80,000 - despite being deemed fit for discharge

Most of the so-called bed blockers aren't kids, obese or otherwise.

[Menehune56]

I'll kick my two boys, 6 and 8, outside every chance I get. I tell them to go ride their bikes, stick together, and don't come back until it's dark.

Good for you. But the way things are nowadays don't be surprised in Child Protective Services or whatever shows up to counsel you about your free-range children.

[Will88]

"The difference in the last 30 years is the grotesque increase in young people getting fatter and fatter."

The article mentions more obese children several times, but never says what ailments or conditions of obese children are supposedly putting so many new demands on the NHS.

[mewzilla]

NHS BEDS CRISIS Toll of hospital ‘bed blocking’ rockets as 7,000 are filled by patients who should be discharged

Why they're suddenly blaming pediatric admissions is beyond me.

[TigerLikesRooster]

More snowflakes are coming. We are not done yet.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Here is one clue:

Rise in type 2 diabetes in children 'deeply worrying'

The UK is seeing a small but "extremely worrying" rise in the number of children developing a type of diabetes that is normally seen only in adults and is linked to obesity, say experts

[Oldexpat]

At age ten I was out the door with my gang. My BB gun. Other kids with their 22’s and 410’s and we went to the woods to hunt squirrels and chipmonks. Skinned and cured them. Just normal back the. And don’t shoot anyone.

[TigerLikesRooster]

The way I see it, most boys belong outdoors at young age.

[digger48]

[Tax-chick]

Lord McColl of Dulwich is 84 years old, according to Wikipedia. It makes sense that a person who lived through the Depression, World War II, and the post-War doldrums would be gobsmacked by the size of children today, but that doesn’t change the real cost numbers for the medical system. In every country that keeps records, people in the last two years of life are the overwhelming consumers of medical care.