Published 27 August 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1417
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1417

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Between the Lines

The wisdom of Falstaff

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The government, I have read in various newspapers, wants to try bribing us into shape. Those of us who are fat will be given cash incentives to lose weight, apparently. Of course, I can quite see the logic of this: it will save the country money in the end. But perhaps an even better idea would be televised humiliation sessions for those who failed to lose weight, in front of a paying, and possibly even a baying, audience, complete with punishment for the worst offenders, as voted by the viewers. Not only would this save money in the long term, it would positively raise money in the short term. The television rights could be substantial.

Like every doctor I am against obesity, smoking, and animal fats and in favour of lentils and exercise. But once, when investigating the way people actually lived, I attended a bingo hall, which I had . . . [Full text of this article]

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