James O'Brien Caller's Brilliant Point On Why Obesity Does NOT Cost NHS Money
3 July 2019, 15:09
After James O'Brien claimed that the obesity crisis is costing the NHS a fortune, this brilliant caller explained why that may not actually be true.
James was discussing Boris Johnson's announcement he would stop the march of the "nanny state" by reviewing things like the sugar tax.
He spoke of how reducing obesity is important - partly because of the strain it places on both resources and funds in the NHS.
But Alison called in and made a couple of brilliant points.
She told James: "I just want to dispel a myth. While I think it is absolutely the way to go to try to reduce the number of people smoking or suffering from obesity, the idea that it saves the NHS money is a complete myth.
"If you die prematurely, even if before dying you had to have treatment for say, terminal lung cancer, that will be cheaper for you as an individual than having to replace your hip, your knee, treat your arthritis, do your cataracts."
In response, James said with a laugh: "You win! That is a chink the armour of my certainty I'd nailed this to the floor.
"If you include the Social Care bill in the Healthcare bill, which we currently don't do, then you've hit me from here to kingdom come."
