what does your doctor say?

JPW1990

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Ooci wrote: »

It was me - as I have asthma we have to have yearly check ups here in the UK. At the same time the nurse conducts a well woman check - blood pressure, weight, waist, basic questions on smoking, exercise and alcohol. She noticed how much weight I had lost from the last one ( 28 lb) and was very interested as she was overweight herself and was curious how I'd done it. Then the waist measurement and the brief discussion Me - "it's still not good is it?" Her - "you've got a bit more to go". But no more detail than that.

That was last year and I've lost 14 lb since then. Hence posting that thread. But I know she still won't be happy.

As for the doctors.... they never once told me I was overweight. Even as I was going in for major surgery and I was apologising to my surgeon for my belly fat at 5.1ft and 175 lb, he said "you're OK" - he was trying to keep me calm I think!

That's interesting. I was actually wondering if one of the differences was the UK (because of the NHS) perhaps having more of a focus on preventative care and risk assessment than here in the US, but that seems not to be the case with this example. Probably it's just how the doctor is personally for the most part, wherever one is.

As I mentioned either here or in the other thread, my insurance company has a risk assessment program that focuses on stuff like BMI and waist measurements and all that, whereas my doctor just seems to be more focused on individual specifics.

I've spent the last week slogging through insurance info since we've been setting up physicals and tests. I found a page listing what the insurance is required to cover under ACA whether they want to or not, and one of the listings mentioned obesity screening and counseling. I remember the fights about things like when and how often certain cancer screenings should be done, but I don't recall that one ever making the news. I suspect a lot of people aren't aware of it, but I do wonder why more doctors aren't encouraging it.

stealthq

Never had a medical weight problem except when I was a kid and "failure to thrive" was written all over my charts. For the record, no one was starving me. I was just picky, stubborn, and the maternal side of my family is all very short and slight, so it was probably a normal growth pattern for us.

However, I do have a family member that is just into the obese category with multiple medical issues that are negatively effected by being overweight (at least one almost guaranteed to be caused by being overweight), and the docs say nothing. Not the GP, not the two specialists he sees for the other issues.

As long as they don't say anything, this person is not motivated to do anything about it because it can't be all that serious. It is serious. The one specialist is already planning on this person needing a transplant in the next 5-10 years, something that might be avoided entirely if some of the weight-related issues can be resolved soon.

I don't get it.

duckykissy

I think a bit part of why my doctors all mentioned my weight is my family history is SCARY. Diabetes in about 60% of the previous generations, high cholesterol in everyone on my mom's side (including myself), Heart attacks killing off family members- grandpas (62 and 58) and an uncle at 38.

Another reason it was also likely mentioned is when I lived in the US I had Group Health medical coverage and they're all about preventative care. And then when I moved to Australia, it's much like the UK system so again they're pretty big on preventative care. I'm quite surprised that so many doctors didn't mention it for others though.

jeannettemancini

Yes my doctor knows what I weigh and has offered suggestions. I actually would leave a doctor who didn't weigh me or at least ask my weight. When they write prescriptions and such knowing your weigh is critical in some cases. Plus as others have said weight can be a symptom or can be a factor in other diseases. If your doctor cares about your overall health and I think weight is one of the things that they should be concerned about. I would never be offended by a doctor looking at my health and putting weight into that equation.