Health promotion

Understanding long term health problems is crucially important in the future of health services in the UK. Important long term conditions include heart disease, cancer and diabetes. In the last 2 years there has been a lot of attention given to childhood obesity as a long term health issue but it has come to light that the current short term priorities in health planning are threatening a long term study into activity and diet in children with diabetes. a study being undertaken in Plymouth will be forced to stop at less than its half way point because the Government funding body does not want to commit to long term projects yet there has been no shortage in projects on which public money has been wasted. There is serious shortsightedness in healthcare planning when something which could make such a difference to the understanding of children's health problems such as this study faces being closed down whilst so many meaningless projects are funded. This is yet one more example of how healthcare funding priorities in the UK are driven by short term political objectives rather than a real desire to change health. At the best the desire for improving health is confused and short sighted. At its worst it deliberately manipulates public fears and aspirations for narrow political gain.