LSE - Small Logo
LSE - Small Logo

Valentina Lichtner

November 30th, 2015

Patient choice: choices are made in context

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Valentina Lichtner

November 30th, 2015

Patient choice: choices are made in context

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Okay, technically this is not about drugs.  But this article is a powerful reminder of the social determinants of health and the limits of attempting to inform public health/policy making with research.
(And the influence of context on health, matters to precision medicine).

Robyn Toomath: I quit. After 14 years fighting New Zealand’s obesity crisis, nothing’s changed: I now believe civil uprising is our best hope for change so I’m passing the baton to overweight and obese people. The Guardian. Friday 27 November 2015

The principle that was lost in all of this is that, of course, we are sentient beings capable of choice, and that this is highly valued, but choices are made in context.

In a room the difference between the fat and thin people is their genes. The reason more people in the room are fat now compared with 30 years ago is our obesity-promoting environment.

Body size is the result of a geno-environmental interaction largely beyond individual control.

[…] Citizens, not advocates, need to demand that healthy food is affordable and accessible, that traditional ways of eating are preserved and that our cities favour exercise.

About the author

Valentina Lichtner

Posted In: Medicine | Personalised medicine | Policy

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Meta