Should we stop calling people 'overweight'?

superstankazz

This is the most ignorant thing I've heard in a while! So if doctors stop saying the words "overweight" and "obese" then WHAT words are they supposed to use to describe people who weigh too much?!?! :explode:

Flissbo

This is the most ignorant thing I've heard in a while! So if doctors stop saying the words "overweight" and "obese" then WHAT words are they supposed to use to describe people who weigh too much?!?! :explode:

:laugh:

usernamekelly1

Reminds me of the time I was doing a childcare course and we had to say "walk" instead of "don't run" as the latter was detrimental to their self esteem, I finished my course and never continued in childcare way to PC for me. I really think that the UK is PC mad and I hate the nanny state we live in

Natx83

Political correctness is lame. What is actually happening is freedom of speech actions are slowly dwindling away, laws are being passed that hinder our rights as humans, privacy is being invaded, being told what you can and can't say cause its not pc and might hurt a minority or even majority in this case feelings.

If you're obese you are fat, simple. You are a fatty mcfat fat. Do something about it. I used to be fat, I've been chubby ever since being a teen.

No reason to not call something what it is. A spade is a spade. People need to stop being so sensitive

unassembledandy

I don't see the point in lying to people when it comes to weight. It can cause some serious health implications and sometimes it's the kick some people need to start losing weight. Sometimes hearing it from a doctor makes it 'real'.

I don't think it's wrong to call a person overweight if they quite obviously are, obviously if it's coming from a healthcare professional. If it's just someone trying purposely to hurt someone's feelings then I don't agree.

I think the UK is going mad, we're a bunch of whingers really that are too easily offended. Don't know if it's just me that thinks this but we're such a nanny state. I want out... lol

im with you everything offends someone so we have to stop it, its mental,

ofc theres a line, if i went "black face" and went around offending people then id expect to be slapped

but overweight... if anything that is a touchy feeley one

i am morbidly obese... tbh it sounds like a medical thing...

what i am is fat...

If you're obese you are fat, simple. You are a fatty mcfat fat. Do something about it. I used to be fat, I've been chubby ever since being a teen.

not saying people should yell it in my face,

but a doctor... "lets not beat around the bush, shall we fatty"

Nataliaho

I don't care about doctors using those terms as long as they are accurate and not based on BMI alone. I also expect that a doctor be specific about what kinds of health risks i would no longer be at risk of if i lost weight and how much weight that should be. The amount that i pay for a 20 minute checkup i expect more than "you are perfectly healthy by every test i have done, however based on the most crude calculation possible, and without asking a single question about your diet or exercise habits, you should lose weight because it will reduce your risk if getting unspecified illnesses."

bluefox9er

it's insanity. words like 'obese' and 'overweight' are not nice to hear, but how can you sugar coat a serious health issue?? When I realised I was clinically obese and beyond OVERWEIGHT I knew I was in trouble. If a Health Care professional had said I was getting a tad flabby, i'd have ignored it.

we might as well describe smoking as 'cool but possibly risky'

steadk

I wish that when I was bigger a doctor would have got me to work out my BMI or shown me a weight chart. I knew I was on the heavy side but because I still looked "normal" compared to everyone else (I would suggest we now see overweight as the norm, or at least we don't notice it as much) I didn't realise how much extra weight I was carrying. Looking back, if a doctor had said that I should keep a check on it I would have listened. If they had used the word overweight I really would have listened really hard!!

I too wish that a doctor would've said something to me sooner. I have actually never had a doctor say anything to me about my weight that i remember. I think part of it is that I have near perfect blood pressure. The only thing is that my sugars were on the high end of normal. Other than that, they tell me i'm as "healthy as an ox" and they "love seeing a normal BP in the office". Too bad it can't make up for the last 10 years of putting my body through hell.

yksdoris

I've been overweight for quite a while. It's when I reached the borderline obese that I really got a wake-up call and started to do something about my weight. If anything, the term "overweight" is too mild!

Obese and morbidly obese, we as a society know that this is a condition that poses serious threats to a person's health and wellbeing not to even mention quality of life. Maybe it's similar to alcohol: being obese or morbidly obese is similar to being a raging alcoholic in that it severely damages the person's health but being overweight is kind of... the state where you have 2 beers (or glasses of wine) every day: not enough to get really drunk but it IS bad for you and it IS, in fact, a health problem. Even though nobody's giving you the stink-eye because, of course you can't be found passed out in a puddle of vomit on the street.

Of course it's not pleasant to hear. For me personally there's a lot of shame and guilt attached to these words. Particularly seeing as I'm an emotional eater - whenever I'm stressed or angry I tend to reach for that foody comfort. But they are extremely important words!

chrishgt4

I don't know how much more simple the term can be than "overweight".

It holds no judgement - it's just a statement of medical fact.

If we change it to something else, then people will only moan about that.

smiley245

I don't see a problem with using the terms "overweight" and "obese", so long as the measurements used to come to such conclusions aren't arbitrary and the person they're directed at is obviously overweight or obese due to excess amounts of fat. I.e. a doctor shouldn't tell someone they're overweight or obese because their BMI is quite high due to a lot of muscle mass as opposed to a lot of fat.

I think most people who have been called overweight or obese by a doctor know deep down that it is true, even if they're trying to deny it - people should be confronted by the fact that they are overweight or obese. I don't understand the political correctness surrounding those terms; yes it hurts when someone tells you that you're overweight, but you probably already know that yourself anyways.

Though, having said that, some allowances should be made for children - it's no use telling a child that they're fat/overweight/obese and then proceeding to do nothing to help them overcome that problem; children aren't really equipped to lose the weight themselves.

I agree with this^^
Let's be delicate but honest where children are concerned.....As for adults, lets face it, if your overweight, obese, morbidly obese. You most likely know this already.
I would not take a Dr seriously that said to me: Smiley, your pleasantly plump and there's just more of you to love. Now let's see what we can do abotu it........At some point being PC is just too much.

yuliyax

We shouldn't be sugarcoating things (pun intended), the first step to solving a problem is recognising the problem.

Flissbo

I would not take a Dr seriously that said to me: Smiley, your pleasantly plump and there's just more of you to love. Now let's see what we can do abotu it........At some point being PC is just too much.

Love this ^^ !!

Dave198lbs

I think it indicates an important risk factor that should be noticed, the same way you include genetic disposition, race, smoking, drinking, etc.

That said, as a ridiculously healthy overweight person I do not think my insurance premiums should go up. I work REALLY hard to be healthy and have a spectacularly hard time losing weight. However, in the civilian world, if I want to get certain things done they will cost me more because I am fat and it makes me sad. I know so many people who don't qualify as overweight who don't put any work into their health and eat horrible quantities of horrible foods, drink, smoke, and can barely walk up the stairs.

Sucks.

not being mean but what does "ridiculously healthy overweight person " mean? good blood pressure? good cholesterol? my understanding is that being over weight causes more stress on the body which makes it work harder which makes it and its systems not last as long therefore an overweight person is more likely to need medical help at some point earlier than a person not over weight. How can anyone be ridiculously healthy if they are over weight?

Aegelis

I'm very much against doctor censorship. It's a shame we have to tap-dance as a public, but when doctors can't be straight with their patients, health is at risk.

Erindipitous

No! It is what it is. I wholeheartedly refused to sugar-coat it so it can be more "acceptable". That's ludicrous.


"Oh, no, you're not overweight or obese..!" Then they may subconsciously feel it's okay to shovel down a plate of bacon cheese fries? I don't f**king think so.

Truth hurts.. But people need to accept it and make the change.

Changing terminology isn't going to solve the problem. It's only going to make it worse.

roachhaley

lolohmygod.

Political correctness gone way too effing far. Next we'll all be talking newspeak.

"You are un-thin"

HMVOL7409

Hell no. I'm a nurse and I don't believe in being dishonest with my patients. Then people will want to sue when their family member dies of a related disease caused by the weight bc they weren't educated.

dlwyatt82

I'm pretty sure it's all the fat that causes the negative body image and self-esteem, not the word used to describe it. We could call it "flibbitysnark" and I'd still know that you meant I look like I just ate the guy standing next to me. :laugh:

EmCarroll1990

We are living in a world where people can't say anything to anyone for fear of "hurting their feelings." It's kind of pathetic, I mean, when did we become such pansies?

No, we should not stop calling people overweight. That's what they are. That's the nicer way of calling a spade a spade without getting "mean." I mean, what else would you call people?