TY - JOUR T1 - The obesity time bomb JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 557 LP - 557 VL - 54 IS - 504 AU - Mike Fitzpatrick Y1 - 2004/07/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/54/504/557.abstract N2 - Oh no, not another ‘time bomb waiting to go off’ — this was my reaction to the House of Commons Health Select Committee report on obesity.1 Surely not, after all these years, the Chief Medical Officer is resorting to the same tired metaphor that has heralded numerous past health scares. Remember the ‘ticking time bombs’ of HIV/Aids and BSE/CJD, both of which were projected to explode, taking up to the half the population with them, but which have continued to tick away quietly without ever causing the anticipated ‘nightmare scenario’. We can only hope that the new time bomb doesn't hit one of those icebergs from the old Aids adverts; this might precipitate a tidal wave that sweeps over the Thames barrier and engulfs the mother of parliaments, together with its Health Select Committee.Now obesity calls forth the metaphors of impending catastrophe. Nobody can accuse … ER -