How would you feel if your GP kept sending you messages encouraging you to eat less and lose weight?

We visit a GP when we have a heath issue or are we just bored with nothing better to do.
Surely if we value our heath then it is in our own interest we take a GP advice. How irresponsible to say we don't need reminding we are overweight or maybe we smoke too much and should cut back? as clearly and should we suddenly develop a serious health issue that is or could be related to our life style then who is our first port of call ?.

Fortunately our GP practice has no heavily overweight staff at all that I can see, not even the receptionists. I would find it difficult not to say something if a fat GP or nurse tried to lecture me about my weight. I was just into the obese category a couple of years ago, have lost weight and now firmly back in overweight category. I know I need to lose another 20 pounds or so and am working on it - I don't need to be lectured by medical professionals about it. I tend to raise the subject myself in appointments - recently diagnosed with high blood pressure despite the weight loss, my BP was better before I lost weight so go figure! I'd just ignore texts like this from my GP, I like the text system for appointment reminders but detest being asked what I thought about the practise afterwards - I ignore these as well

Unless you have already opted in to receive text messages from your practice, this would be a breach of GDPR regulations, and you could remind them of the 4% of income fine! If you have opted in you are perfectly entitled to opt out again if they start spamming you. Automated response to a code on your notes, GP would have nothing to do with it.

It would come from an IT company who wants to sell their automated system and some health quango thinking it might work. As it’s tax payers money we can afford it.

This would make me mad and I would definitely not pay any heed to being lectured by my doctors via text or e mail or in fact in person!
I am sick to death with the obsession with weight loss that the NHS has; any tiny ailement they grill you about your weight. Got a cold? It’s because you are fat! Broken your arm? Must be because you are obese! Etc etc.
I went to my GP over a few years due to unexplained weight gain, and a huge stomach.I got no examination, only endless lectures about my weight and told to eat less and exercise more. I tried to loose weight by half starving myself which was the only thing which made any difference! I stopped going to the doctors in the end unless I absolutely was desperate about something, because I was fed up with lectures; I even got a lecture going for my smear test which nearly put me off going the next year!! (In itself potentially life threatening if cancer cells are missed!)
in the end a young locum doctor that saw me when I went about a cough, spotted that my stomach was too big against my over all shape and discovered that I had a huge tumour which in fact was a rare form of cancer in my abdomen! I had this removed in the spring and the “weight” dropped off!
I feel that the obsession with focusing on weight without investigating other possible reasons for weight gain can lead to dangerous miss diagnosis that in my case nearly killed me! Years of stupid GP lectures about weight in stead of investigating why my stomach had swelled up; ignoring me telling them that I eat a healthy vegetarian diet, walked everywhere don’t smoke and never had done so and was a rare drinker made no difference to them!

The last time I saw my doctor, he was morbidly obese. When they practice what they preach, I will gladly read their texts. And what about the cost of all these texts!

I agree it's just a box-ticking exercise.

It wouldn't bother me though to receive such a message. If I were overweight, I'd probably take note.

I think we spend far too much energy pandering to those who "cannot lose weight". The over whelming majority can.

I'd block them. More nanny state bollocks while underfunding actual treatments and interventions that work. Makes my blood boil.

I feel GPs have enough difficulty keeping up with their workload and don't need to have to write or approve nagging text messages. Presumably, the receptionist or practice nurse would be responsible for actually sending them.

I agree too that we don't need to be told, as we do all know what is supposed to be good for us.

They could just send one word every now and then - 'fatty'

Telling someone to do something like eat less and exercise more is more likely to put people off (1) they might be already doing it so won't appreciate being reminded and (2) a lot of people react by doing the opposite as they don't like being told what to do either. It's positive encouragement.that's needed not school teacher stuff and telephone intervention by a doctor is certainly not appropriate - it would be like a scam phone call!!!

I have a few health issues that I know are exacerbated by being fat.
I am currently doing my very best to lose the fat.
I won’t go to my gp about these issues because, quite rightly , they would tell me that being fat is part of the problem !

If your weight is affecting your health , I think it’s caring and wise for your gp to address this with you

Our generation probably wouldn’t like text messages (although it wouldn’t bother me) but this is the way younger people communicate and would take it in their stride, choosing to accept or ignore the advice. Any way of educating, encouraging people to lose weight must be a good thing. Other methods don’t seem to be working!

I'd respond to the offer of genuine support losing weight, not just being directed to a slimming company, but some 1:1 coaching and encouragement. Ie not just telling me I'm overweight, but helping me to address it, since if I could do it on my own, I wouldn't be overweight.

Nagging emails won't do it.

Meant overweight health officials :/

Fran 0251- we're not saying we dont want to be healthy or mobile/active- just that we dont want it stuffing down our throats every time by txtx/messages from(quite often) overwight health officials....

Wouldnt we be entitled to 'opt out' of these messages though- thanks to the new data regulations thing??

I'm over 70 and have so many friends overweight and with mobility problems I don't understand the above. I want to be mobile and healthy for ever. I watch my weight for me, and can still run for a bus. I'm grateful for any help my doctor can give. Fibroids at the moment. Treat your doctor like a human being and they will treat you like one.

If they started the txt thing id be tempted to tell them id changed my number- then give them a false one....but then something which may actually be important may go astray....

Yes sparlefizz-definately going to ask them what THEIR weight is next time im asked by an overweight nurse/gp/etc!

Actually, this would not come from a caring and concerned doctor. He/she would put a (probably coded) note on your so-called private medical records and ‘big brother’ or the receptionist, would pick up the code and send it out.
Since overstretched GP’s would probably never remember to put in the cancellation code when you reached your ideal weight, you’d still be receiving them if you became anorexic, or on your deathbed. How many people would simply block the sender, or label it Spam/junk so they never see it?

Seems so simple but human nature tells you it wouldn’t work. Those who want to look after themselves do the others don’t care and nothing anyone says or does makes a difference

Yes they are(NHS)always looking for excuses- Ive NEVER smoked,only drink occasionally(christmas birthdays holiday,family party)but as i said ive a bit of a tum- i tried lose a few pounds- to no avail,turns out ive got an underactive thyroid gland- but i do have a few medical conditions already- and everytime i see a new person at hosp or any kind of 'medical' appt they start off (as soon as ive reeled off my conditions)with "do you smoke?"- "do you drink?" with a smug knowing look which they assume must be the reason ive got 'such and such' wrong with me! No,i dont flipping know either- but it doesnt mean its self- inflicted!!

It may help the occasional person but very few. There was a feature on BBC news this morning about a man who had had five separate amputations on his limbs but was still a heavy smoker. If losing so much of his limbs won’t stop him then nothing will. I missed the beginning of the feature so I don’t know if he was diabetic but I suspect he was.

“just hop on the scales'
'Is that germane?' , i said to the young, very overweight doctor
'what does that word mean ?' she asked but she backed off.”
?????
The text message proposal has NOTHING to do with personalised care. The messages would be set up to go out automatically. Probably with no regard to what might be happening in a person's life. Completely useless but enables the GP on a six figure salary to tick the "preventative medicine" box.