As usual, unfortunately we found some Members of Parliament, did not speak in a natural common language but were more interested in pontification. Vernon and Vincent Montgomery visited the Houses of Parliament to attend the National Obesity Forum (NOF) and witnessed what a difficult problem the Government face in making policies and debates on tackling obesity.

Calorie teachers and brothers Vernon and Vincent visited the House of Commons to sit in on a debate hosted by the (NOF) National Obesity Forum with Dr Ian Campbell as Chairman.  It was a debate on trying to find a cure for obesity with selected M.P.s attending.

We witnessed an endless array of people who stood up and gave lectures on statistics and percentages regarding the current trends of the obesity epidemic.  But we found it strange that nothing was put forward to recommend any possible cures or workable procedures.

In a nut shell, Dr Ian Campbell was trying to convince everyone to get more money per head from the Government to “compensate” doctors for the amount of people they had to treat, and  the little time they have to treat them.  So having more money available was Dr. Campbell’s recommendation and being a Doctor, he wanted obesity to come under the GMS (General Medical Services) and of course paid for accordingly.

We do not consider the view that Doctors, offering a wide range of services called “alternative options, such as surgery and prescription pills, is the answer either.  Please visit the NOF Web Site for more information on this. Then there was one M.P who, after talking for some time on the subject left, never to return, after having said his piece.  His diary for the day no doubt filled.

Another M.P spoke of  Supplement aids and Nutritional Supplements being a possible way forward. He also mentioned he had a close relationship with a Supplement Company in this area of research.

The sad fact was that half of the attendees were themselves overweight and one of the chief speakers, who had a very large stomach, would  himself have derived some benefit from a few lessons on calorie control.

Most of the people in the chamber were “sent” by some respected company or other for Public Relation purposes.

I grabbed my chance to stand up and say something during this intellectual lecture on statistics and bidding for government contracts and directed a question to a very overweight person, sat in an important and prominent part of the Chamber, who could obviously be seen by everyone in the room. This gentleman obviously held some position of authority so  I asked him “How many calories had he eaten that day”?

This question was likewise  directed to the rest of the room.

Does anyone in this Obesity Forum know how many calories they had eaten that day?

Of course the room remained silent.

One of the causes of obesity is because no one, not even these members of the Obesity Forum, understands the full implications of calorie control. So it is easy to eat too many calories if you are not aware of their value.

A problem that is “common” throughout in the Forum of Obesity is that if a knowledge of calories was prevalent these people would not be obese.

This is precisely my point.  If these respected people, who govern policy, do not have the complete picture regarding calorie intake then how will lesser intelligent people know how to gain control? I say lesser intelligent because one speaker went on to demonstrate by statistics that it is the less educated or lower-income people who tend to be the most obese.

That’s precisely the reason that  policies should be put across in a language that is simplistic enough for everyone to understand..

The point I was trying to make was that more calorie teachers are needed. Teachers who not only talk about calories but who can literally show people how to find them day to day and week to week and explain about them in simple terms that everyone understands.  The Members all looked bemused by my point when I asked how many of them knew how many calories they had, at any time, in their busy office day. Nevertheless, weight loss is ONLY successful when used as part of a calorie controlled diet.

I happened to have NOF’s own web site definition on weight loss/management (click here to view)...

Indeed we agree with NOF’s “How Weight loss works” and why you need a calorie teacher who can teach people, in simple terms, how 2000 or 2500 calories are calculated.

That’s why we have the present  epidemic because no-one knows how to find this calorie, or the reason for the increase of calorie intake. Indeed anyone can write and use mathematics to support their argument.  I will quote the words that best sum this up from Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, who served on the NASA Challenger investigation.  I quote:-

“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”

Because we have failed to communicate the importance of understanding the currency of the calorie and its’ correct evaluation, does not mean that it does not exist.  It means that those in control of education in this country do not completely understand it themselves

The Education Department of the Government who are responsible for the health of the nation need calorie control teachers just like electric circuits need the skill of an electrician and a 6 mm bolt needs a 6 mm spanner. Otherwise why quote how weight loss works? Giving more public funds in GMS grants to Doctors is not the answer.  Good calorie control teachers with good communication skills are the right tools for the job.