I read your article with dismay (Plans to scrap England’s anti-obesity measures ‘a national scandal’, 14 September). The reality is that the myth that people can be obese and healthy is pervasive, and few people realise the risks that their behaviour is exposing them to.
I am a gynaecologist, with a special interest in treating gynaecological cancers, and the reality is that around a third of womb cancers are classed as preventable because they are caused by underlying obesity. So more people have to come and see me for a cancer diagnosis and live with the sequelae of that diagnosis and its treatment as a result of obesity. Obesity causes and exacerbates a multitude of health conditions that not only cost the taxpayer to treat, but also adversely affect the lives of patients and their loved ones.
I strongly believe that the government’s plans did not go far enough, and scrapping them abandons any pretence that it is taking this problem seriously.
Dr Jonathan Riley
Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist
• The subheading of this article was amended on 20 September 2022 to refer to people being obese rather than overweight.
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