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West Midlands Health Authority staff urged to slim down as part of obesity fight
Mar 28 2008 By Alison Dayani, Health Correspondent
HEALTH bosses were today urged to get their own house in order and slim down medics to ease the region's obesity crisis.
Fat health workers may feel too embarrassed to bring up the weight issue with patients, Dr Rashmi Shukla told board members of West Midlands Health Authority.
Dr Shukla, regional director of health, asked the authority to consider launching a healthy workforce project so that nurses, doctors, midwives and other staff could lead by example.
Dr Shukla said: "Research shows that, for example, if a midwife is obese, she is less likely to bring up the subject of obesity and information to the mother, like breast-feeding makes a child less likely to be fat.
"There is a lot to be said for a healthy workforce.
"It would be good for us to lead the way with our staff and there is the whole issue of role models to think about."
Obesity is one of the top priorities for Midland health chiefs and the Regional Health Partnership has already successfully bid for £6.7 million to promote more exercise and a healthy diet.
Cynthia Bower, chief executive of West Midlands Health Authority, said she would consider the request, but was anxious that it could lead to criticism that the authority was spending money to help its own staff as a priority over patients.
Dr Shukla has helped shape a fat-busting action plan for the region because the West Midlands has the highest numbers of obese women and children in the UK.
Latest figures show 28.7 per cent of women are obese, along with 19.9 per cent of children aged between two and 15.
The region also has the second highest proportion of obese children aged between two and 10 in England, at 17.4 per cent, while a fifth of West Midlands men -22.2 per cent - are classed as obese.
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