Comments | ontd_political: Too few docs tell patients they're overweight

homasse in ontd_political

Too few docs tell patients they're overweight

Mar 02, 2011 15:52

Too few docs tell patients they're overweight

Many people who are overweight and obese either don't realize it or are in denial -- and too few doctors are setting them straight, according to a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.Researchers analyzed data on roughly 5,500 people who took part in government health surveys between 2005 and ( Read more... )

obesity, medicine

Comments 120

24_24_1_1526 March 2 2011, 19:53:36 UTC

I haven't had a doctor yet not tell me that I was fat. Even at my thinnest in high school they would remind me that my bmi was high and I needed to lose 30lbs. This in spite of being healthy otherwise.

salienne March 2 2011, 19:53:55 UTC

http://fathealth.wordpress.com/

All I'm saying.

popehippo March 2 2011, 21:12:22 UTC

God I love/hate that sight. On one hand it makes me feel better about my own experiences and educates me on what to know/ask... and on the other, reading the worser experiences for some people is one of my Buttons.

salienne March 3 2011, 00:40:52 UTC

Yeah, the site is depressing, but it's also really really informative. It makes me realize how omnipresent & damaging fatphobia is and how lucky I am that I haven't had anyone go "THIS IS BECAUSE YOU'RE SO FAT" to my various health issues yet... though it's also really scary on that same front. :/

csi_vixen March 2 2011, 19:54:12 UTC

You know what? Fuck this. Fuck this so hard, because I've been overweight/obese/a fatty-fat-fat-fat my whole fucking life and that was the only thing my doctor ever focused on. I heard it every time I came into his office. And did it help me lose weight? No.

Did it make me more aware of how heavy I was and how that was destroying my health and my body and clearly it was the cause of all my other problems and nothing else was wrong? Yeah. I went home and cried after I was done with the doctor half the time.

I hate doctors, and I hate that I hate doctors, and I hate all this bullshit.

curseangel March 2 2011, 20:41:47 UTC

Seriously, this. Same kind of experience, and just... wtf. Yes, by all means, everyone tell me I'm fat a little more! I hadn't noticed, and it will totally magically motivate me to lose weight despite it being far more likely to simply cause crushing depression! :|

svtstarlight March 2 2011, 23:50:13 UTC

This. While I haven't been overweight my whole life, as soon as I did become a little bit heavier than the 'norm' (wtf is the 'norm' anyway, when they seem to agree that most people's norm is now overweight...), all they've ever fixated on was the weight. AND completely ignored the fact that it's related to PCOS and hormonal issues, NOT overeating. (I barely eat anything as it is, but try telling the docs that? *growls*)

SMH for doctors on this issue (as many others...)

(The comment has been removed)

Thread 7

sakura_no_miko March 2 2011, 19:55:29 UTC

My OB/GYN was very kind about telling me to lose weight--she said it would help, but that she also understood that it's a challenge. Oddly enough, no other doctors have said anything to me.
That said, I already knew I needed to lose weight. I still do. Curse my hatred of sports and love of sedentary hobbies.

roguebelle March 2 2011, 21:11:19 UTC

My lady-parts doctor, whom I adore, was really good about gently letting me know that my weight was verging on being a concern last year. And she was right -- I'd gained a significant amount since the last time she'd seen me, and she was right to point out that it was only going to get harder to get back on track the older I get. This year, it was back under control, and she was happy to hear I'm living a healthier lifestyle overall. :)

zendequervain March 3 2011, 20:03:29 UTC

There's no problem for a doctor to mention a drastic change in weight. That's usually a symptom of an underlying issue.

However, when all a doctor focuses on is weight as a 'cause' for whatever could be ailing a person, that is unacceptable.

Oh, your entire family has a history of rheumatoid arthritis? No, your joints hurt because you're fat. Oh, you've had a recurring ankle injury since you were 12 and skinny as a rail? It's still bothering you because you're fat. You present symptoms of bronchitis? No, you're just fat.

Seriously, this happens. All the time.

audacian March 2 2011, 19:56:19 UTC

I am so amazingly privileged to have amazing doctors and I'm never going to let them go. I have RA and hypertension and nobody has ever mentioned my weight (and at 5'2 and 215 at my highest weight, I identified as fat. I kind of don't, any more, for various reasons, but that's not here nor there. I am outwardly fat, I think.)

The only asswipe to ever suggest and even sort of demand that I lose weight was the sleazeball orthodontic surgeon who, after asking me my weight for purposes of knowing how much dope to administer to knock me out, said that he'd rather see his kids take up smoking than eat a cheeseburger. o.O

kitschaster March 2 2011, 20:00:54 UTC

Fuck that orthodontic surgeon. Fuck him very much.

salienne March 2 2011, 20:01:42 UTC

said that he'd rather see his kids take up smoking than eat a cheeseburger

I.... what.

There is not enough FUCK YOU (at him, not you, obviously) in the world. Seriously.

lizzy_someone March 2 2011, 20:18:44 UTC

JFC what a fucking asshole. I hope he didn't mess up his kids too much with that kind of attitude.

Thread 11