"Doctors are _______ to Fat Patients"

bugaha1

Yes, damn those doctors for telling people to get healthy. :huh:

Really? Losing weight /= healthy.

Since I was 10, the first thing every doctor ever said to me is: You need to lose some weight. Never mattered what I came in to see them about. They never gave me and info or help on how to do this. Most of them seem to believe being fat is the root of every health problem I've had.

It could be the root of every health problem you have ever had. I am not trying to be mean, just honest.

every health problem ever? lmao

PaulW2MD

I don't really know what to add to this thread. As a fat doctor I feel I can connect with my obese patients better. Most of my fellow doc's either say nothing or give no real advice to their obese patients. Some give bad advice. I understand the struggle. If a patient shows a real interest, I will help them in any way I can. Some don't always like what I tell them. Most want a quick fix. There is none. Since I been on this site I have had some of my patients join and they have done well. My two cents.

phyllio77

I am so happy everyone knows how MY body works! I have never been so informed about MY personal situation with my weight gain.
Some very nice supportive voices..Thank You those people...and we go back to approach for the others.
Never assume you know the entire story:)

phyllio77

.:brokenheart:

phyllio77

I don't really know what to add to this thread. As a fat doctor I feel I can connect with my obese patients better. Most of my fellow doc's either say nothing or give no real advice to there obese patients. Some give bad advice. I understand the struggle. If a patient shows a real interest I will help them in any way I can. Some don't always like what I tell them. Most want a quick fix. There is none. Since I been on this site I have had some of my patients join and they have done well. My two cents.

This is awesome...this makes me smile:)

pastryari

I love the people advocating that being overweight isn't unhealthy, seeing as they are on a weight loss website.

postrockandcats

My eye doctor, after seeing the start of corneal arcus (google it) and the signs of pre diabetes after my last eye exam (yes, you can tell that from your eye), told me he was concerned and to see my G.P. to see if everything was fine. He didn't embarrass me; he was very professional. He said "I see these two things and these things can lead to diabetes and heart problems, etc" ending with "which can stem from being over weight."

He looked me in the eye while speaking to me and spoke kindly. I *was* embarrassed, but not because it was brought up to me. I was embarrassed because it needed to be and I could have prevented it by choosing a healthier lifestyle. It was one of the defining factors to me coming here and fixing myself.

Edit: I think that a little more explanation of why the doctor is concerned is needed; are there things that are showing up during the exam that are causing concern? The ones that are going "loose some weight, you fatty fasarse" are doing it wrong.

RavenBeauty87

I read this thing in one of Jillian Michaels books once. She said she went on some TV show, a sort of panel debate thing. One side was health and fitness experts, the other were "weight rights" people. She was on the fitness side, and her fellow fitness side panellists were very antagonistic to the "weight rights" people. One of them had a close relative that had died of an obesity related disease and the other one had some other emotional issue of their own with obesity. Bottom line was, they started lecturing and ordering round the weight rights people, not listening to them and not treating them with basic human respect and dignity, basically being really angry and acting on their own emotional reposnes and fears rather than connecting with the other people and responding to them.

She realised that the "weight rights" people were really not just saying "respect us however we are" but also "look, it is hard being 300lbs, hard enough as it is without being treated like we are sub-human when you know nothing about me and what my life is, without having your anger and fear taken out on me like I am some kind of punch bag". And she realised that any kind of automatic response like that is prejudice and that that always leads somewhere wrong.

So she just spoke to the weights rights people like normal people, because they were normal people. She stayed in touch after the programme with one of them and she helped her lose weight, when the other person realised that was what she wanted and asked for help. So a bit of understanding, respect and empathy, as well as just plain old kindness and niceness was what got a result in the end.

And I think a LOT of doctors could do with learning that, and a lot of other people too. A human connection and a bit of respect is going to lead somewhere better or quicker than fighting about what weight is right or wrong.

This popped into my head when I read this.... when I was (hate saying it) obese and people learned I was a vegetarian I had one person tell me (but it really hurt at the time) "If this is what being a vegetarian looks like I'm going to keep eating meat." Now that I look like myself again and I'm dropping weight people say "Maybe I should be a vegetarian." Fat people know they are fat.... they know it is unhealthy like smokers.... like you said if you just treat them like humans then they will be more likely to change if you give them support instead of "You're fat lose weight. Come on it's not that hard calories in calories out." for me I had to do way more than that and when I found a doctor to help me that is when my life changed

phyllio77

I love the people advocating that being overweight isn't unhealthy, seeing as they are on a weight loss website.

WOW! I am healthy! What gives you the right to say how I feel and know! And I never said others weight gain was healthy, I do not know their situation. I was stating from my personal weight gain situation.

victorious27

So I gained all my weight from medication (which I've been struggling to get off about 6 months after I gained it when it finally clicked that I wasn't skinny anymore) and whenever I went in to see my doctor and she was out...one of her colleagues was my doctor for that day. Every time I came in, whether it was for strep or possible flu or whatever else, he would walk in the room saying, "What is wrong with today's children? They don't seem to understand what exercise is and how not to eat too much." or he would talk about how kids just need to get up and do something.

Yeah, a**jack. I know you're talking about me. Shut it and tell me if I'm actually as sick as I feel.

Not all doctors are like this, but they usually generalize -- especially in today's world where most of the population did do it to themselves. But they shouldn't bring it up unless it is a true risk or getting ready to be a risk, or it's actually their patient..

In my case, he shouldn't have said anything to me. He wasn't my doctor and didn't know my situation, and also didn't know that I had only been 35 lbs heavier for just a year and it wasn't even my fault and that I was working on it.

I still dislike him and how he treated me.

NocturnalGirl

I am so happy everyone knows how MY body works! I have never been so informed about MY personal situation with my weight gain.
Some very nice supportive voices..Thank You those people...and we go back to approach for the others.
Never assume you know the entire story:)

Is there more to the story? Do you mind sharing any more of the story then? What you claim is new to us and didn't make sense based on science so please inform us in that case, if you don't mind.

tequila09

If you have a high body fat percentage you are unhealthy. Just sayin!!!

UsedToBeHusky

I am so happy everyone knows how MY body works! I have never been so informed about MY personal situation with my weight gain.
Some very nice supportive voices..Thank You those people...and we go back to approach for the others.
Never assume you know the entire story:)

Nutritional science is called that for a reason. While I am not disagreeing that your personal situation is your own that does not mean that people who have successfully lost weight do not know what they are talking about. Your rationale (that you explained in this thread) is not an accurate expression of how the body works under normal conditions. Perhaps you did not explain it the way that you meant, but the people that responded to you were only trying to further your understanding. You really should be a little more open-minded.

nikbolok

I was fatter than I am now, down 38 lbs now and much stronger and healthier, but still consider myself fat. My doctor was fat, telling me to lose weight. Then she lost the weight on some stupid weight loss program involving bars and shakes. She gained it back. She was still telling me to lose weight. She was never ****ty to me. I think she is concerned for me and my health at a young age. This blogger is ridiculous......

I work in the medical industry, and yes, being fat is not good for anyone's health. It also increases the cost of everyone's insurance due to the fact that people who are overweight have more medical problems, go to the doctor more, and have more medical procedures. Since we cannot "prorate" insurance based on preventable conditions one may have and how much they use their insurance, we all pay the same rates. So, yes, obesity in turn hurts everyone (with their own insurance, that is).

National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance my *kitten*. It's just another "group" to scream discrimination. Just get out there and do what millions of other people are doing (including all of us on MFP) - lose the damn weight. The doctors seem "****ty" to this woman because she is LAZY and blogs about being fat and how horrible it is. This is the general picture of America to many other countries - fat, lazy, and take no responsibility for things that are their fault.

I'm still fat, but taking responsibility for what I did to myself......... :drinker:

deadbambi

Yes, damn those doctors for telling people to get healthy. :huh:

Really? Losing weight /= healthy.

Since I was 10, the first thing every doctor ever said to me is: You need to lose some weight. Never mattered what I came in to see them about. They never gave me and info or help on how to do this. Most of them seem to believe being fat is the root of every health problem I've had.

Basing off your ticker, which has a highest weight of 300lbs, yes that IS unhealthy. Losing weight would YES = healthy. Did you ever ask your doctor for any info?! Sorry to say, but at 300lbs, being fat was probrably a major factor in health problems.
I don't get why you disagree that to lose weight would be healthier. You are here to lose weight..........

agreed. 300 lbs could very well be the source for all your health problems, lol. Denial.

firstsip

I am so happy everyone knows how MY body works! I have never been so informed about MY personal situation with my weight gain.
Some very nice supportive voices..Thank You those people...and we go back to approach for the others.
Never assume you know the entire story:)

What is the story? How does your body, and only your body, go against all medical science?

Do you know what "spontaneous generation" is? It's when people used to correlate things improperly; ex: I threw a pile of dirty, food laden rags in the corner. The next day, there are a bunch of rats. I think, "Oh my, the rats generated from the rags."

That is an old pseudoscience that has been disproved for hundreds of years.

You sitting here saying you are completely healthy at around 300 lbs, and that you gained 300 lbs because you just "don't eat that much" and you're saying you KNOW you gained weight simply because of undereating... is similar to spontaneous generation. It seems like you're making a correlation here that is clearly not "causation."

Really, I asked if you were sure you didn't have medical problems because, knowing as much about nutritional science as I do having gone through so much "eating rehab," as well as dealing with several hormonal problems, I have to think there's something else at play. In which case, I'm asking and still in this thread chain out of concern for a possible condition you're not being diagnosed with.

bcattoes

Some doctors are ignorant to fat patients.

It is all about the approach.

Educate yourself...discover why someone is overweight and go from there...NEVER ASSUME YOU KNOW!

I am fat..why? I overeat? I dont' excercise?....Neither of these things. I am fat because I do NOT eat. I used to eat once a day maybe even once every two days. I do not eat sweet.

So think about your approach.....I said to my Dr. once....Do you think I woke up this morning, looked in the mirror and went..holy crap! Im fat!

What you might consider healthy is not what I would consider healthy! Remember that!

You got fat by not eating? Do you just mean not eating by mouth or some nuance you are leaving out? Because a lack of calories can not cause fat gain.

If you starve yourself what do you think will happen to every calorie you put in your mouth..it hoards it..you do this for years what do you think will happen. There are several factors for people to be overweight. A doctor should discuss solutions and aids to help with these factors for a patient to be successful. I am overweight, I have no medical issues thankfully and I consider myself healthy.

If I starve myself I know what will happen. I will lose fat because my body will have to burn stored fat for energy. I will also lose weight in the form of muscle and possibly organ loss. If I do this for years I will eventually die. Though if we are talking about actually starving, it won't take years.

piggydog

Something needs to seriously happen in the country.... A large portion are going down a very slippery slope and leaving tax payers to pick up the pieces and pay medical costs associated.

I work for a mobidly obese woman...Shes very nice and after a serious health scare, she has started to change her ways but shes going right back down the road she was on.

Most people don't want to be accountable for their actions.... I know when I went from 115 to 145 in 6 months I sure didn't. I blamed the depo shot. Yes it made me much more hungry but I could have chose to eat an apple or something similar rather then toodel down the mcdonalds and get a 10 piece chicken mcnugget or order a pizza.

Yes everyone needs to be treated with dignity and respect but they also need to be held accountable for their actions

justal313

I love the people advocating that being overweight isn't unhealthy, seeing as they are on a weight loss website.

Not everyone wants to lose weight for their health. They may want to boost their self esteem, escape judgement and ridicule, or just look hot.

Just reading this thread on this site shows that ridicule abounds for the overweight.

chanstriste13

i can see the issue to a degree.

being overweight can definitely lead to health problems, but just because someone is *not* overweight doesn't neccesarily mean they aren't abusing their body in the exact same way.

my example: fellow coworker is model tall. light, very trim. she eats two footlong chilidogs every work day for lunch with a side of fries and mountain dew. *everyday*. and she doesn't eat any vegetables. i kid you not.

between the two of us, i'm the one that can jog a 5k, and she's the one who gets winded going up the stairs.

but i'm the one who gets berated by the doctor to take care of my body.

i can understand the frustration.