The National Health Service (NHS) staffers in the UK have been told not to call fat people "obese" in guidance issued by the medicine watchdog, according to a report in The Telegraph. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) published the list of offensive words and alternatives to be used in their place in the latest version of the inclusive language guide. It says the workers should instead describe the overweight as "people with obesity".
As per the watchdog, not using words like "obese" and "alcoholic" reflects "good manners and sensitivity, not political correctness".
"Conditions describe what a person has, not what a person is. Diseases are treated, not people. Diseases, not people, respond to treatment. Conditions, not people, are monitored," the guide stated.
Apart from switching the term for obese people, the guide also advises against using diabetics, schizophrenics and alcoholics to describe the patients.
| Offensive words | Alternative |
| Diabetics | People with diabetes |
| Schizophrenics | People with schizophrenia |
| Drug users, drug addicts | People who use drugs |
'Policing language'
The decision seemingly did not go down well with certain sections who said the healthcare leadership in the country was focused on symbolism instead of improving the situation on the ground.
“The NHS leadership seem more interested in policing language than improving either health care or the quality of management and leadership," Dr Alka Sehgal-Corbett, director of the campaign group Don't Divide Us told the publication.
Meanwhile, Lord Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union said: "A fat lot of help that will be, if I'm allowed to use that word. What a 'person with obesity' needs is not a nice new label, but a GP appointment so they can get a prescription for Ozempic."
"The obsessive language policing by woke mandarins is symptomatic of the intellectual vacuity of the progressive Left, who now think that the way to help disadvantaged people - sorry, the 'underserved' - is to relabel them in a more politically correct way," he added.
Notably, this is not the first instance when Nice has come under scrutiny for its guide. In February 2023, the watchdog published the previous iteration of the guide wherein the staff members were urged to say "pregnant people" in a drive to use gender-neutral language.
