THIS councillor has been deemed obese and told by a public health consultant that his protests to the contrary are just a form of denial.
Regular gym goer Coun John Parkinson used the Body Mass Index system to check his weight status before taking part in a debate about what to do about the town’s reported high levels obesity.
As a member of the health and adult services scrutiny commission, he was preparing to voice his opinions on Barnsley’s weight strategy.
Coun Parkinson discovered he was a tiny fraction away from the obese category.
Surprised, he questioned the data and queried whether the borough really was as ‘fat’ as the statistics make out.
Consultant in public health Rory O’Connor, who works for the Primary Care Trust, told Coun Parkinson that the reason he does not feel obese is perhaps due to a society which has grown comfortable with obesity.
Speaking after the meeting Coun Parkinson, who is 14 stone and 5’9, told the Chronicle he does not dispute the need to help people who are obese.
He just wonders whether the problem is as big as health bosses claim.
