UK to do away with the word "obese" in healthcare

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Replies

  • kazzari
    kazzari Posts: 473 Member
    This is just crazy to me: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9252311/Obesity-a-derogatory-word-says-Nice.html

    When I stared in 2010, I was quite obese with a BMI of 34. Realizing this was my wake-up call that shocked me out of denial and into living better and being healthier. I don't understand what doing away with the terminology is going to do for any obese person other than continue to feed into their denial about their weight and continue to support a society that is all about avoiding hurt feelings instead of encouraging better living. The term "obese" is a medical term, not a derogatory one.

    Ugh...

    That is just like the sizes in clothing, I have a pair of jeans from before I was married that are size 11/12 28 years ago but when comparing them to a pair of size 6 that my daughter use to wear they are about the same size. Head games are not healthy.

    It is different with clothing...it is not a head game. We discussed "vanity sizing" on another fitness site a while back and someone who worked in the clothing industry and was doing research on the sizing issue corrected us and explained why, for example, a size 4 is bigger than it used to be. Apparently, size 10 represents the average size of the members of a particular clothing line's demographic. As that population gets heavier on average, size 10 grows to fit the new average size for that clothing line, and so do all the other sizes grow proportionately. This also explains why a size 10 (or whatever) sold at Walmart runs larger than a higher end label of the same size...the demographic population for Walmart clothing lines tends to bigger than the demographic population for the high end label. It was a very interesting explanation and made perfect sense.

    It may make sense for the store, but it doesn't make sense for the consumer. Sizing should be based on a standard set of measurements. There are some stores I can't even shop in because their size 14's are the largest size and super tight on me. In other stores, a size 12 is a perfect fit, and these two stores are ext door to each other in the same mall. It's irritating. I've seen sizes range from 12 up to 16W with my measurements (32" waist and 45" hips).

    I agree that it's frustrating, but that's the fashion industry for you. It does explain the differences and why sizes change.
  • MisterTEZ
    MisterTEZ Posts: 272 Member
    I live in the UK and this is just another political correctness gone mad! it's not big news here in fact it's the first I have heard of it! They are asking doctors to avoid using the word 'obese' not to offend patients but by and large patients will only get upset when it dawns on them that they are obese according to their BMI, not that they are offended by the word 'obese'.
    It's a medical term used in the UK as it is worldwide, it's not going to change.
  • kazhowe
    kazhowe Posts: 340 Member
    Removing the word obese would not remove the obesity problem!
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    The problem is that BMI is SUCH a flawed scale. The ranges of 25-30 for overweight and 30+ for obese was decided by the World Health Orginisation. They used no scientific study to determine these ranges. They were just picked out of thin air. Before the mid 90s overweight didn't start until 27ish (different for men and women) When they changed the BMI scale (again with no scientific reasoning) 27 million Americans went from healthy to overweight. With no change in their weight.

    Here's an illustrated example of BMI

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/77367764@N00/sets/72157602199008819

    Now IMO looking at the people who are deemed overweight most of them look healthy, most seem fit and while they could lose weight they don't need to. It's the people who are in the obese category that clearly need to lose weight.

    You also have the fact that people who are considered underweight are facing health risks of the same severity as obese people.

    Ultimately we need a better way to correctly measure healthy weight.
  • StirFriedGiblets
    StirFriedGiblets Posts: 89
    This is just crazy to me: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9252311/Obesity-a-derogatory-word-says-Nice.html

    When I stared in 2010, I was quite obese with a BMI of 34. Realizing this was my wake-up call that shocked me out of denial and into living better and being healthier. I don't understand what doing away with the terminology is going to do for any obese person other than continue to feed into their denial about their weight and continue to support a society that is all about avoiding hurt feelings instead of encouraging better living. The term "obese" is a medical term, not a derogatory one.

    Ugh...

    I got called obese by a medical professional, a nurse, on my regular check-up for contraception. I was 11 stone at the time, 5'2 and had a BMI of 28, sure I definitely needed to lose some weight but I was NOT obese. People throw the word obese around too much sometimes. That comment from the nurse led my self-confidence (which was low anyway) to plummet, 4+ years of feeling horrible about myself, self-harm to my stomach and being so close to the edge that my friends and bf urged me to see a doctor. I did, and now I'm doing CBT but I just wish that nurse had thought properly about what she said to a 16 year old girl before she opened her gob.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    That's because you had a stupid nurse. Even under the current BMI you were classified as overweight.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
    Purely semantics. Perhaps we could use the traffic light system. Green = within range, Orange = overweight, Red = obese/morbidly obese like they show on the charts and they you could just be given your colour rather than the term.


    I favour - Podge-Free, Podgy, Very Podgy ;-)
  • BeautyAndTheGeeks
    BeautyAndTheGeeks Posts: 109
    I can't even begin to explain how much this bothers me right now.
  • StirFriedGiblets
    StirFriedGiblets Posts: 89
    I guess on the plus side I eventually got my butt into gear and I'm now not overweight haha! =)
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    How f*cking annoying. Personally I think the word obese is one of those power words, like murder, c*nt and Jeremy Kyle. It has a really strong effect on people. And I think considering obese people are a huge risk to themselves then a little tough love is whats needed.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
    That's awesome.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    PC gone awry.

    It's the same kind of wrong headed thinking that results in kids being promoted in school rather than hurting their self-esteem by failing them, oops I mean underperforming. While I agree that it is constructive to avoid using unnecessary pejorative and hurtful terms some words are simple statements of fact using medically correct terminology..
  • SerahLaffere
    SerahLaffere Posts: 223 Member
    I'm small and chubby but in medical terms obese. It does make me feel horrible. And I know I'm not actually obese. otherwise i'd have more than 40lbs to lose. But it did give me a push to wanna lose weight.
  • militarydreams
    militarydreams Posts: 198 Member
    The reason that you all don't find the word offensive is because you're doing something about it. Many people are stuck in a rut and get the word thrown at them a lot, however, as people have said they will just come up with another word that means the same thing and lets face it: it isn't the word that hurts, it's the meaning.

    The only one that I think needs to be changed is MORBIDLY obese... I don't know why but it doesn't sound right. Just something like hyper obesety would be better in my mind
  • BumbyDog
    BumbyDog Posts: 70 Member
    All of this PC nonsense is just getting way out of hand. Next thing you know They will be insisting that everyone refrain from using the word hair so as to not offend the bald.

    PMSL!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for that :D
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    I think its fantastic that we are removing ' obesity' from the NHS. We would by definition have no more obese people in this country.

    Be good if the royal mint could print a few zillion more £20 notes and give every single household several million of them so we can be the richest and healthiest country in the world after Qatar.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    How f*cking annoying. Personally I think the word obese is one of those power words, like murder, c*nt and Jeremy Kyle. It has a really strong effect on people. And I think considering obese people are a huge risk to themselves then a little tough love is whats needed.

    LOL @ ' jeremy Kyle'. that is pretty profound.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
    Not serving the truth is not serving.
  • BumbyDog
    BumbyDog Posts: 70 Member
    The reason that you all don't find the word offensive is because you're doing something about it. Many people are stuck in a rut and get the word thrown at them a lot, however, as people have said they will just come up with another word that means the same thing and lets face it: it isn't the word that hurts, it's the meaning.

    The only one that I think needs to be changed is MORBIDLY obese... I don't know why but it doesn't sound right. Just something like hyper obesety would be better in my mind

    It's accurately called 'morbidly' obese because of the life threatening health risks it brings. Take the emotion out of it. It's a clinical term full stop. This is the Medline definition for 'Obesity, Morbid'

    "The condition of weighing two, three, or more times the ideal weight, so called because it is associated with many serious and life-threatening disorders. "

    I think some people who are told they are obese and then say "but I'm not obese" actually mean they think they don't look like what they perceive to be obese - like the photos from the op. But, if their BMI is within the parameters of the clinical definition, then yes they are obese.

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