Petulant Outbursts Of The Week

Both emailed in by Bob E.

1. From The Independent:

It sounds too good to be true, coming at the end of the season of excess, but after one of the largest reviews of research ever conducted, doctors say that carrying a few extra pounds may actually reduce the risk of premature death...

Tam Fry, spokesman for the UK National Obesity Forum*, said: "Katherine Flegal is an extremely good researcher and I would respect her. But I am flabbergasted. The sum total of medical expert opinion cannot have got it so wrong. The consequences of people taking this research and deciding 'let's eat and be merry' will be catastrophic.

* The NOF is not a fakecharity, it is a Big Pharma lobbying front. According to Bob E, "This rubbishing is not, as you might think, based on Tam's deep knowledge of all things scientific and biological, because that is just about a round "zero" seeing as Tam gravitated towards the NOF after a 25 year career in TV production."

2. From The Telegraph:

Government alcohol guidelines that were "plucked out of the air" wrongly suggest that we can drink almost daily with no ill-effects, say doctors...

Dr Nick Sheron, a liver specialist at Southampton University, said: "The problem I have with the Government advice is that is normalises the fact that it’s OK to have a drink on a daily basis, when that’s really not the case."

Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England, is currently reviewing the evidence on the risks of drinking, said a Department of Health spokesman. She said: "The health risks from alcohol rise as you drink more and there is some evidence that small amounts of alcohol can reduce some health risks. To look at whether the system is still helpful to people, the Chief Medical Officer is set to review the alcohol consumption guidelines."