Rising Stars, The Blog!

Government Interference

         Does any government have a right to say what you can or cannot do with your body?          

This is possibly a huge subject, but for me, it's a very personal one. Here in the UK, we have the NHS, something that I am extremely grateful for, because it means that we can see a doctor whenever we want, have whatever operation we want without worrying about whether we have enough insurance or not.

It's not a perfect system; it has its faults, long waiting lists for operations and for seeing specialists for example. However, because it's a free service, or at least appears to be, the government are now targeting specific groups, particularly those who are overweight, as being a drain on the NHS. They are reported as being unhealthy, and at risk of high blood pressure, strokes, heart problems and diabetes, because of bad diet, laziness, and a bad attitude. It's now on so many news reports that anyone who is overweight is now ashamed to walk out of the door, despite the cause of their weight gain.

Now, I have to say, I'm one of these people, I am overweight, my first two stone never lost after struggling with post-natal depression after my daughter was born. This would not have been a problem, had I not had family issues that continued this depression for another eighteen months longer than it would have been. I didn't gain weight in this time I just didn't lose it. I was fit and healthy, with two children to raise and working part-time, I would cycle to and from work each day, about three miles each way.

It was later when I became unwell that my problems started. A long-term illness from childhood recurred; it wasn't something I had expected to face again. It meant I had to start taking medication. At this time, I cooked all the family's meals from fresh food, from scratch, even while struggling with depression. However, my illness meant that for a few years, I didn't eat as well as I had been, I also wasn't getting as much exercise, as I was unable to work. This, I know had something to do with my weight gain but certainly not all of it.

I soon discovered that the problem with medication is that most of it has side effects. The type of medication I take puts weight on; when they last changed my medication, I put on a stone and a half in just two months. This weight is much harder to get rid of; I even had a doctor who said exactly that.

So, to the question at hand, should the government have a right to say what you can or cannot do with your body? I understand that they are trying to save our NHS money by preventing health problems but the way they've been doing this has demonised everybody. I admit it, I am overweight, not in the huge category but after that first two stone, I've added another four stone. Through hard work, I've managed to keep my weight in check and it's only when I change medications that the weight goes mad. However, because of the countrywide damnation of anyone overweight, I'm now looked at as someone who is lazy, eats rubbish food and is a drain on society.

The government aren't making rules out in the open; they use the media to do it for them, spreading it like propaganda. They turn the public against the people they want to, by using news stations, papers and any other media they can, to get what they want. We condemn communist countries for the use of propaganda, yet it happens here. We are supposed to have free speech, shouldn't we also have the freedom to live the way we want. This is not to say, that as a member of a society, we don't have a certain responsibility to that society to share equally.

Perhaps this is a little idealistic and maybe the government are trying to achieve this. It is still, as far as I'm aware, a free society and the government should be careful how much they interfere with the everyday lives of people. This sort of interference is what begins hate campaigns and possibly more health problems for those being targeted; mental health problems especially, leading to the need for more care from the NHS.

So wouldn't it be better to deal with underlying problems for those whose lives can be changed rather than making them targets, and for situations like mine that can't be changed, we can then be left in peace.