Health secretary Alan Johnson says that the GP role will become even more critical this year, in his new year's message to GPs.

How will GPs "lead the fight against...lifestyle diseases such as obesity" exactly? It is government that needs to act, not GPs... How about taxing unhealthy food and subsidising "healthy" food? Or even tax breaks for those with a BMI in the normal range?!

Looks a bit like that method of questioning suspects when they do heavy questions one minute and then go all nice. One day GPs are not available enough hours in the day or are so hopeless that they must be castigated by a dissatisfied public on some expensive privatised website and the next they are all wonderful. Let's have some meaningful respect and trust for primary instead of constant meddling and bullying.

What can one say about sleazy jokers, who cannot tell the difference between what is offensive to hear and what is funny but fails to make one laugh ? Ignore the drivel. Let the people responsible for it, pick up the tab.

When will the government realise that they cannot legislate to make people take responsibility for their own lifestyle. GP's cannot force patients to eat healthily etc they can only advise on the options and then it is the responsibility of the individual to choose which course they will take. Why do we not teach healthy lifestyle and eating from the beginning of shchool lives, give our youngest children the proper tools to enable them to improve their life choices instead of letting them continue to beleive that take away meals and salt and sugar laden pre prepared meals are the correct choice. Education is what should be provided.

Medicalising lifestyle issues such as obesity and lack of exercise is only going to fuel demand for already stretched primary care services and provide a perfect cop out for the public when they can't or won't change. I fully support providing health promotion services and identifying and advising on risks to health, but as said above we can't force people to change so shouldn't be penalised when they don't.

As if we didn't know already that politicians are two faced, lying, deceitful, sub-human beings, we have to read this tripe!

What a load of guff!

Obesity etc is a PUBLIC HEALTH issue and should NOT be dumped on an already overstretched Primary Care Service.

Get real people and say NO to this rubbish!

so now we're angels whereas before we were ****.... confused GP