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24 January 2008 / Jennifer James
Issue: 7305 / Categories: Opinion , Public , Human rights , Community care
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The obesity time bomb

Health

The Insider has followed with interest the recent news stories about the state of the nation’s waistlines. We are apparently on the way to becoming the fat man of Europe and considering that would put us ahead of countries like France and Italy, where the natives have a reputation for enjoying their food and drink—and have food and drink worth enjoying—or the Germans, who basically eat animal fat washed down with carbohydrates in an alcohol suspension, that is saying something.

 

The law as a profession does tend to attract its fair share of corpulent practitioners, to say nothing of those who join the profession all svelte and lithe and end up after a few short years of dinners in the Inn—or à deux with the hottie who fixes the photocopier—and several seasons of binge drinking that would put Robert Newton to shame, resembling nothing so much as the Goodyear Blimp. Indeed, I have sat at table in Middle Temple alongside at least one barrister of such heroic proportions

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NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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