Obesity is on the increase in Scotland. Scottish people desperately need to be told the truth about how to reduce obesity.

BBC News reported in November 2009 that two-thirds of men and more than half of women in Scotland are now overweight. Well that's a great shame and much of that increase could have been avoided. It is about eight years since I contacted Bill Gray, who was at the time National Project Officer of the Scottish Community Diet Project, Scottish Consumer Council, and also others working in the same field. We wrote and we spoke on the phone. I sent him lots of material and evidence making clear that to reduce obesity/overweight it is necessary to reduce salt intake and that it is not necessary to diet or to try to lose weight by exercising. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted the blogpost from Sunday 29 November 2009, but since it was important and is still just as relevant, I am reposting it today, 8 October 2012.

This is an extract from what I wrote to him (in late 2001, if I remember correctly):

"As I explained to your female colleague, I am not asking you to endorse my
advice.

I am asking you to tell people that it could be salt and water retention
that has caused their weight gain and that if they reduce their salt intake
they could lose weight. They have only to try it. They will then find for
themselves that they lose weight. Without the information that salt can be
the cause of weight gain they are highly unlikely to discover it for
themselves.

I have quoted to you EXACTLY what Sir Richard Doll wrote to me, but you seem
to have discounted what HE says, as well as what I say.

Why I say you have treated me shabbily is mainly because you are not a man
of your word. You promised, TWICE, to reply to my letters. You did not
reply. Your colleague, stammering and almost incoherent when I spoke to her,
also promised me a response. Again nothing. Good God! You would think I was
asking you to tell people something that might endanger their health rather
that enhance it! Cutting down on salt is entirely safe and completely free.
Just give the additional information that it could also cause weight loss in
the obese.

Why don't you have the courage to believe Sir Richard?

My MP has sent me a photocopy of a letter he has received from Pauline
Jackson, a friend of mine and another of his constituents. In a separate
email, I shall send you a copy of it.

THEN PLEASE COME BACK TO ME ON THIS.

Copying my stuff and passing it on to others in the hope that they will have
the courage to do what you yourself lack the courage for, is just a waste of
time and paper. They will be as cowardly as you have shown them that you
are. They too will be unwilling to put their heads above the parapet and you
will all continue to leave many THOUSANDS of people needlessly suffering all
sorts of health problems and all sorts of emotional and social and
psychological distress. Do you really want that on your conscience?"

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, vascular dementia, stroke, osteopenia, osteoporosis, depression, liver and kidney problems, boost your lung function and improve your health in many other ways without drugs, hunger or expense by eating less salt! - Try it!
See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.
Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection
Sodium in foods
http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

See advice for pregnant mothers
Children and Obesity
Associated health conditions
and FAT RETENTION

Too many UK patients are prescribed high-risk drugs

"Findings of a new study suggest that too many patients in the UK are being prescribed high-risk drugs that could potentially cause them harm, and reveals that GP prescribing between practices remains significantly varied. According to the research paper, published in the British Medical Journal online, thousands of patients in Scotland particularly vulnerable to side effects from medicines were dished out 'high-risk' drugs by their GPs."
Read article at pharmatimes.com (UK)

Overall the level of pharmaceutical drug prescribing in the UK continues inexorably to rise, and with it the consequences of harmful side-effects, and the further risks of this abundance of 'legal' drugs getting into the hands of drug-dealers and potential addicts. We need statutory limits on prescribing levels, with serious sanctions, including permanent removal from the Medical Register, for doctors who contravene such limits. - "First do no harm."

Steroid victims say GPs gave no warning: archived article from 1995

Very occasionally, I come across sad evidence of the long, long years prescribed steroids have been harming patients, and the comprehensive lack of any effective measures being taken to STOP doctors catastrophically harming their patients. I came across one yesterday.

In this archived article from The Herald, Scotland, we read:

"HUNDREDS of Scots suffering from the side-effects of steroids have claimed they were never warned by their GPs about the drug's dangers.

They claim steroids have caused them to endure crippling illnesses like the bone-crumbling disease osteoporosis, as well as angina, diabetes, cataracts, weight gains, and skin disorders."

In 2011, this is still the situation. The medical profession's ignorance/negligence in the matter of prescribing powerful, potentially harmful/dangerous drugs, including steroids, but many other classes of prescribed drugs too - antidepressants, antipsychotics, anti-epileptics, and more - is staggering and scandalous.
If you are a steroid victim, or know someone who is a steroid victim, or victim of some other prescribed drug, there is helpful information on these pages:

• Steroids and HRT

• Amitriptyline and other antidepressants

Radio 4 had such an uplifting programme today about Sistema Scotland, aka The Big Noise

It is available to listen to online for the next seven days. Here is the webpage about it. It is well worth listening to.

"A music project in Scotland is aiming to improve life for the kids of Stirling.

The Simon Bolivar National Youth Orchestra under conductor Gustavo Dudamel stole the show at both the Proms and the Edinburgh Festival, offering real proof of the talent and virtuosity that has emerged from the El Sistema programme in Venezuela.
Can Scotland's version of El Sistema - dubbed The Big Noise - achieve as much in the deprived area of The Raploch near Stirling? Lesley Riddoch finds out.

In June 2008, Sistema Scotland, the brainchild of former bishop and current chair of Creative Scotland Richard Holloway, got underway in the Raploch. Its aim - to inspire and galvanise the education and motivation of children from all backgrounds through involvement in orchestral musicianship. Ability is irrelevant. Anyone can join."

This very worthwhile project seems to be in need of cash or sponsors.

Doomed to failure: Scotland's new initiative, entitled ‘Preventing Overweight and Obesity in Scotland – A Route Map Towards Healthy Weight’.

Why do I predict that THIS is doomed to failure? - Because yet again, influential, but ill-informed, people are claiming that obesity is on the increase because of energy imbalance, i.e. that obesity is being caused by taking in too many calories and expending too few calories. They see part of the answer to this supposed cause as pressing restaurants to limit portion sizes! - See this Telegraph article. What an intrusion into the personal liberty of both the customer and the restaurateur! - Why do I say this? - Isn't it worth it to improve people's health? - Well no, actually. - Limiting portion size will not improve anyone's health, and it certainly won't improve their temper or their blood pressure!

It dismays and astounds me that they are still, even now, peddling this lie, despite the destruction it is wreaking on the health of the people they are paid to serve.

Why don't they read the research? - Diets don't work! - Renaming diets 'healthy living' doesn't make them work. Restricting calories in and increasing exercise (calories out) is counter-productive. - It actually causes WEIGHT GAIN, because it weakens the blood vessel walls and so increases fluid retention. See the article in the British Medical Journal of November 2003 http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/327/7423/1085 for actual research on what happens when this advice is followed! - Over 800 obese adults were put on energy deficit diets, given diet sheets and plenty of instruction and help from trained staff, and apparently, visited fortnightly for a year, at the end of which they had GAINED weight! This mirrors the real experience of obese people, viz. - dieting makes you fatter.

To reduce obesity in Scotland they should be explaining that it is initiated by fluid retention, which tends to be followed by fat retention as well. The vector for both of these forms of excess weight is salt - more exactly, SODIUM. Reducing salt/sodium intake is the fastest, safest way to lose excess weight because it reduces both fluid retention and fat retention. - Fat retention is not caused by eating too much fat and is not cured by eating meals low in fat.

See Lose weight and
Fat retention and fat excretion: the importance of getting enough calcium.

Don't bother about portion control. It is neither necessary nor desirable.

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

And see Sodium in foods and

Children and Obesity

And they should be curbing the reckless prescribing of pharmaceutical drugs, since their side-effects are the major cause of adult onset morbid obesity. See

amitriptyline

prescribed steroids and HRT

Schoolboy's Vitamin D Petition successful

Read article in The Herald (Scotland/UK)

14 year old Ryan McLaughlin succeeds with his vitamin D campaign in Scotland

BBC News reports on the success of 14 year old Ryan McLaughlin, in drawing the attention of the Scottish government to the "urgent need" to provide information to all health professionals who work with pregnant women and young children about current guidance on vitamin D.

"Ryan became the face of a YouTube campaign to publicise the use of vitamin D, and led hundreds of supporters down Edinburgh's Royal Mile to Holyrood before he put his proposals to the petitions committee in June.

He told MSPs research into the genetic effect of vitamin D deficiency showed a link to the development of MS. Vitamin D, which the body needs for healthy, strong bones is largely gained through sunlight and food."

Living in Scotland tends to result in extreme Vitamin D deficiency because of chronic lack of sunlight. While deficiency in the UK is widespread the situation in Scotland is worse than for the rest of the country. Scotland receives 30-50% less ultraviolet radiation (UVB) from the sun than the rest of the UK owing to its high latitude and persistent low cloud cover.

Scotland is thought to have the highest rate of MS in the world.

More than 150 girls in Scotland have suffered adverse reactions to cervical cancer jab, Cervarix, made by Glaxo, introduced last autumn

Read article in The Scotsman (Scotland/UK)

People who live in Scotland may be interested to read this

It's information about your need for vitamin D being higher because of living in Scotland:

http://www.vitamind3uk.com/Scotland.html

Living in Scotland often results in extreme Vitamin D deficiency due to chronic lack of sunlight. (reference) While deficiency in the UK is widespread the situation in Scotland is worse than for the rest of the country.

The smoking ban in Scotland is hailed as successful.

Scottish smoking ban hailed as a tremendous success - Guardian

Extract:

"Only one smoker and one business have been taken to court for flouting Scotland's strict anti-smoking laws in the year since they were introduced, it emerged yesterday.

Critics of the ban predicted open disobedience by smokers, but Scottish ministers claimed yesterday it had been a "tremendous" success after learning that only 175 people were fined for breaching the law."

Some people gain weight after giving up smoking. - You can lose weight by eating less salt! - Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
See my website www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)