Addressing addiction 'would tackle physical diseases'

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by Change | 14 Oct 2009

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A group of mental health experts have urged the government to invest more money in psychological research, maintaining that many physical problems begin in the mind.

Dedicated research on mental health problems would help address the physical conditions they trigger, such as obesity, smoking addiction and heart disease, say medical experts.

Speaking to the BBC, Dr Peter Jones, head of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, said the effects of mental illness are far more widespread than many realise.

He explained: "Take smoking and lung cancer. People think of it as a physical illness but lung cancer is a behaviour disease due to smoking habit."

Similarly, recent research has indicated a link between obesity and a hormonal deficiency in the brain, making it difficult for sufferers to know when to stop eating.

"We need to zip together physical and mental health. It is absurd to think that biological processes would stop at the neck," he added.

Dr Jones has lent his support to Research Mental Health, a joint venture backed by the Mental Health Foundation, King's College London and the Institute of Psychiatry.

Its members are calling on the government to triple spending on mental health research, taking total funding to £200 million.

Celebrity supporters of the cause include Job [Jo?] Brand, Stephen Fry and Alistair Campbell.

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