You Are Merely A Puppet

If you want an idea of how utterly barking the modern 'public health' cult is, you need look no further than this.

I am becoming increasingly concerned at the widespread and unquestioning use of the term “lifestyle” in public health  

This isn't strictly the truth. 'Public health' actually hate the term 'lifestyle choices' because it, quite rightly, conveys that people do make choices about their lifestyles for themselves. The state-funded prodnoses in 'public health' wouldn't have an argument if they admitted that, so they like to pretend we are puppets of industry and are incapable of choice which is, of course, bollocks.

The author then goes on to explain exactly why the word 'lifestyle' is such a problem for them.

“Lifestyle” is a loaded term that reinforces stereotypes about individuals and a world view that people are majorly or entirely responsible for their own health.

Yes, this pompous dingbat is actually trying to pretend that individuals are not responsible for their own health. Incredible, isn't it?

Indeed surely the term “deathstyle” would be better because the logical implication is that most individuals in our society are consciously choosing to lead unhealthy lives.

Well, some people do actually choose to consume products which are not entirely healthy or which carry some form of risk. Because, you see, we are all different and many people don't go through life with the sole priority of living as long as is humanly possible at the expense of everything else.

Are you open-mouthed in astonishment yet, dear reader, because it gets worse.

It is clearly nonsense to talk about smoking and alcohol dependency as a lifestyle choice when they are recognised as addictions.

Oh do fuck off! For many, smoking and drinking (a lot) are extremely enjoyable behaviours. What sort of arrogant interfering arsewipe are you to dismiss that? Everyone has different levels of acceptable risk, however just because most people are less risk averse than this state-funded 'public health' craptrumpet, he concludes that the public are therefore not making a valid choice. The sheer arrogance of such a statement is jaw-dropping.

The use of the term lifestyle essentially conveys an ideological view that risk exposure is voluntary and down to free choice. Therefore the extended logic is that individuals determine their own health futures.

It's not "ideological" to say that what the public consumes is voluntary and that it is down to free choice; it's the truth. And to deny that individuals determine their own health futures is wibble of the first water. He's clearly spent so much time within the echo chamber of say-anything-for-a-buck 'public health' that I think he really believes this shit!

It is thus a serious disservice to the public health community to peddle such terms. It is certainly a professional disservice and discourtesy to the public. It actively undermines public health interventions by ignoring upstream causes and alienates people from the services intended to help them.

Firstly, as mentioned, 'public health' would prefer we don't talk about lifestyle choices at all, it destroys their narrative. So of course they wish the the word lifestyle would disappear. And if the word "undermines" "interventions" that no-one asked for and no-one particularly wants, then that's a very good thing. If people are "alienated" from the "services" 'public health' provides it is for a very good reason, it's because they do not find them necessary so they are a massive waste of taxpayer cash. Cut them off without a penny George!

I would look to the public health community to set the standards not lower them. I cannot imagine the term “lifestyle” being included in any proper public health taxonomy. Instead, as the public health community, we should describe accurately the range of health and disease determinants or use the description “behavioural determinants” which are socially, economically and environmentally patterned. Let use evidence based language please and think more carefully about what we are (mis) communicating! 

Call them whatever you like sunshine, but the public enjoy their lifestyles and make their choices freely and according to their needs. No-one, but no-one, except a head-up-their-arse trouser-stuffing PH trougher would ever go to a bar and say "I'd love another pint but it's not good for my behavioural determinants". Good grief.

How on earth can you truly believe you are "helping" the public when you summarily dismiss the choices we make for our lifestyles as irrelevant? Yes, lifestyles, because what we enjoy is our choice and should have nothing to do with you, got that? Go away and masturbate with a knife you snobby, repellent little grotbag.