Of all the things a patient doesn’t want to be told, probably the number one item is ‘this is your fault, you know’, writes Terence Cosgrave F ood (glorious food) has been in the news again this week. Operation Transformation – the ethically dubious RTÉ show that purportedly helped people to change their lives, and particularly their eating and exercise habits, was finally scrapped after 17 seasons of goading, comparing, measuring and stigmatising. RTÉ have stuck to the formula for 17 years (an eon in TV time), but it’s a different era now in terms of weight loss management.
Even the RTÉ dinosaurs got that. The final straw came when the producers refused to allow weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy into the conversation – as suggested by the show’s resident dietician – and when that happened it became obvious that this was a TV show designed for ratings, drama and conflict – and not what it purported to be – a show to help people lose weight. Of all the things a patient doesn’t want to be told, the number one item is ‘this is your fault, you know’.
Or ‘you did this’. Most doctors know this. It’s a pointless and sadistic point to chide an ill person for things in their past.
They already know that smoking (or whatever) is the cause of what they have now – and now is not the time to tell them that. Operation Transformation was the mental projections of people with perfect bodies who assume that they achieved their magnificence throu.
