Photo © AP Photo / Amy Sancetta

A British health minister has asked doctors to call their patients “fat” rather than “obese” as she believes this will make it clearer to them they need to lose weight. 

Anne Milton, a former nurse and a Conservative, said that many professionals were worried that if they called people “fat” they might cause offence, but that if they have a weight problem they need to know.

Ms Milton said the term “obese” distanced people from the problem and that calling them fat would encourage “personal responsibility”.

She claims "If I look in the mirror and think I am obese I think I am less worried than if I think I am fat.”

Experts warn that if nothing is done, more than half of the UK population will be obese in 2050, putting a huge strain on the national health system.

Some medical professionals have supported Mrs Milton, including Professor Steve Field of the Royal College of GPs, who said “the term ‘obese’ medicalises the state". He adds "you can be popular by saying the things people want to hear.... we too often do that when we should be spelling things out clearly."

But Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum, which campaigns to raise awareness of the health problems of being overweight, disagrees with Mrs Milton’s idea. She says "the word 'fat' is a stigmatising word that is the kind children use to insult each other. 'Obese' is a proven medical word that has been used since the year dot. We should stick with it."

Would you rather be called "obese" or "fat"? Is concern for someone's good health more important than not taking offence? Log in below and have your say.