Britons 'too worried over health'

Should we be given advice about what to eat?

People in the UK are becoming "morbidly" obsessed with their health, researchers are warning.

A conference at the Institute of Ideas in London will hear that a poor perception of the health risks people actually face has increased anxiety.

Speakers will say various messages, including those from the government, encourage people to focus unnecessarily on the smallest change to their health.

But the Department of Health said healthy lifestyles had major benefits.

Giving up smoking and eating a balanced diet were examples of ways people could protect themselves against disease, it said.

GP Dr Mike Fitzpatrick said people should be "left to their own devices" when considering their health.

Helping people make positive changes to their lifestyle will combat the prevalence of diseases Department of Health spokeswoman

"The most important objection to current health policies is that they are authoritarian and anti-democratic," he said.

"They implicitly replace the relationship between state and citizen with that between parent and child, therapist and client."

Dr Fitzpatrick said that there was little evidence to back up some health messages.

"In terms of the policy to recommend eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, a study last year suggested it had no effect on cancer or cardiovascular trends," he said.

He added that while obesity rates had increased, life expectancy had increased over the same period of time.

There was also concern that screening could generate "tremendous anxiety", he said.

"We should leave people to their own devices. They'd be much healthier for it."

Choices and consequences

Professor Mike Bury, a sociologist, said: "The unintended consequence of fully engaging people with their health is an invitation to morbidity, which values health as an end in itself."

Lots of people appear to be becoming obsessed with small changes in their health Professor Mike Bury, Health Development Agency

Prof Bury, a member of the Health Development Agency's public health advisory committee, said this could be problematic, as people saw any change in their physical condition as potentially affecting their health.

"Clearly, detecting a serious disease at an early stage is a positive thing, and I don't think anyone would argue against that," he said.

"But lots of people appear to be becoming obsessed with small changes in their health. That's not necessarily a good thing.

"Take tiredness. When does tiredness, which many people experience, turn into something more serious, such as chronic fatigue syndrome?"

But Dr Ian Campbell, president of the National Obesity Forum, insisted people should be offered advice on healthy living.

"We should allow people to make their own choices. But I think people have the right to know what the consequences of the choices they make are.

"Those of us in a position to facilitate people making healthy lifestyle choices, the government, health professionals, should do so."

Waiting lists

A Department of Health spokeswoman said the recent Public Health White Paper was about "helping people to exercise their choice as well as extending opportunity and offering security to those who want to choose a healthier life".

"Now that the NHS is improving waiting times, reducing waiting lists and improving emergency care departments, the time and resources are there for effective action on prevention," she said.

"Helping people make positive changes to their lifestyle, such as giving up smoking and eating healthily, will combat the prevalence of diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes and stroke."

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Your views:

Whilst some information is helpful/useful, it can sometimes have the effect of living with the Sword of Damocles. I've been a Type 1 diabetic for nearly 40 years and live in daily dread of a heart attack or stroke after constantly being told it was a possibility.
Anne Jackson, Accrington UK

Had I not taken charge of my own health, my current diabetes would have remained untreated. My doctor was convinced that I didn't have it, I was convinced that I did. He very reluctantly arranged a "worried well" blood test, presumably to teach me a lesson. The lesson is that I have diabetes. Fortunately, I have been on (self-prescribed) diabetic diet since last April and have probably caught it in time.
Sandra, Seaton, Devon

I believe that in the UK there is a mass hysteria about dieting, slim people and disease. There are not so slim people that enjoy a long and healthy life with a great blood pressure. The problems seem to creep in when every time you read a newspaper/magazine or watch TV, you are threatened that you are going to suffer from this or that and in the end you are going to die!

I think that the best way of calming people down is not wasting the GPs' time, but intensive information through media... in a positive way!
Cosmina, King's Lynn

I agree entirely - I sit and agonise over having biscuits, snacks, chocolate, even "normal" food like butter and meat. I buy low-fat this, low-salt that, eat 5+ portions of fruit and veg a day and wonder about every ache - "it's my chest, it could be my heart" when it's more likely that I slept awkwardly, or it's indigestion from all the low-salt, low-fat, too much veg that I've eaten...

As a confirmed hypochondriac, I believe the media and Government have a duty to inform the public of all health risks. We may not contract the illnesses, but if we do, at least we wouldn't be able to say we weren't warned.
Joan Thompson, London, UK

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that being happy and relaxed about life is the best policy, and the best way to good health. My Mother is 61, she eats fat, salt, sugar, chocolate, lots of red meat and she's happy, healthy, active and having a good time...
Jon, London

Years ago hypochondriacs, such as myself, used to have to go to a medical encyclopaedia to look up information on diseases. Now with the internet widely available anyone can do this at a click of a mouse. Neither the government nor the medical profession can stop individuals from worrying about their health and accessing this information unless the internet is banned and in some ways this access to knowledge can be a positive thing, especially given how overworked doctors are nowadays.
Piper, London

Thank goodness some healthcare professionals have the guts to speak out against the nannying of the Department of Health. Surely advice on diet etc, should be issued on a strictly personal level from an individual's medical team, rather than Government's blanket approach?

For health reasons, I personally have to watch what I eat, but that's an issue discussed with my GP, a person who knows my medical background, rather than a scientist out to make a name for themselves by saying "this is bad for you". Indeed, if I was to cut my salt intake as recommended by these experts, I could end up with serious problems. Leave decisions on what's good for an individual to that person and his/her doctors!
KB, Bristol, England

While people should be warned about the ill-effects of smoking, alcohol, over-eating and "recreational drugs", we are constantly being bombarded with other messages many of which are then contradicted by later warnings.

Health professionals seem to constantly invent new disorders and syndromes which most parents would recognise as being childish misbehaviour but which are dressed up as ADHD and similar complicated-sounding ailments. Let's KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid!).
Adrian Martin, Birmingham, UK