According to this BBC article, Dutch researchers have performed a study to look at what lifestyle factors are most relevant when estimating who makes the most use of Doctors surgery time :

The research is published in Family Practice.

The team from Maastricht University looked at GP data from almost 4,500 adults.

Participants also filled in a questionnaire designed to find out about their lifestyles, such as their diet, whether they smoked, how much they drank and how much exercise they did.

They expected to find that the most unhealthy or unfit people would visit their GP more often.

But of the lifestyle factors looked at, only body mass index (BMI) was independently associated with frequent visits to the doctor.

The finding was true of both men and women and was not accounted for by higher rates of chronic illness.

A straightforward result I think you will agree – the only indicator of more frequent visits to the docs is being overweight.

However, this is the BBC and they have to ensure the righteous agenda is being pushed at all times so, no surprise then that the headline and opening paragraph chosen for the article put quite a different slant on the story :

Obese visit GP more often than smokers, researchers say

Overweight people are more likely to make frequent trips to their GP than smokers or those who are generally unfit, say Dutch researchers.

The implication there, in my mind at least, being that smokers already visit the doctors a lot due to their filthy habit.

Remember the actual research results :

But of the lifestyle factors looked at, only body mass index (BMI) was independently associated with frequent visits to the doctor.

The actual headline could have had any one of “drinkers”, “idle layabouts”, “meat eaters”, “Jewish Grandmothers” or “masturbation addicts” in place of smokers as none of those indicate more frequent doctors visits – only being fat does.

Really, the BBC are just showing their true socialist colours in picking the current untermensch to illustrate their article and, of course, ASH says we smokers cost the NHS billions so it must be true.

No one will complain though as it is all part of the constant brainwashing, although Don Shenker will no doubt be furiously demanding that the BBC change the headline to the following lest his funding starts to decline :

Obese visit GP more often than binge drinkers, researchers say

Bastards one and all!