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LETTERS:
James McCormack, Peter Loewen, and Peter Jewesson
Dissemination of results needs to be tracked as well as the funding is
BMJ 2005; 331: 456-a [Full text]
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[Read Rapid Response] Bathroom Scales as Public Health
John N Burry   (6 September 2005)

Bathroom Scales as Public Health 6 September 2005
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John N Burry,
Retired
PO Box 7177 Hutt St Adelaide South Australia 5000

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Re: Bathroom Scales as Public Health

Bathroom scales as public health technology To the editor. The developed world has faced the public health challenge of tobacco with success but so far has found no way to face up to the challenge of obesity and overweight. 75% of individuals who were successful at maintenance of weight loss weighed themselves regularly.1

The importance of the bathroom scales as a public health regulator is not recognised. We recognise that we must brush our teeth daily. And we must shower daily and eat regularly and clean our houses and our streets regularly. And the water we drink must be clean. And the toilet must be used. But we do not accept that there is a need in our obesogenic societies to weight ourselves regularly.

The public should know that doctors have stopped dying of lung cancer and emphysema because they have stopped smoking.2 They should know if doctors are not dying of heart attacks, strokes and diabetes because they weigh themselves regularly on the bathroom scales and maintain optimum body mass indexes. If a survey were to show that most doctors take steps to control their weights the public should be informed.

Bathroom scales symbolise vigilance and their use recognises the fact that without vigilance our weights creep up insidiously and get beyond our control.

1 Klem ML, Wing RR, McGuire MT et alii. A descriptive study of individuals successful at long-term maintenance of substantial weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr 1997; 66: 239–46. 2 Yach D, McKee M, Lopez AD, Novotny T. Improving diet and physical activity: 12 lessons from controlling tobacco smoking. BMJ 2005; 330: 898– 90.

Competing interests: None declared