"Doctors are _______ to Fat Patients"

The doctors I currently see have been very understanding about my weight issues. I know some doctors aren't. You may need someone who relates to people better. In the past, I just think I've seen bad ones... For reasons such as assuming all my problems were because of my weight & not explaining to me how to eat for my medical conditions.

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

Ima go out on a limb and say you've never been obese and had to deal with a doctor.


The majority of doctors treat you very differently. No matter WHAT issue you go to them with, from headaches to constipation they blame it on the obesity and tell you to lose weight. Ok, it may have a factor in what is going on but even now that I'm in the process of shedding the obesity I need help dealing with those things in the interim.

The way I was treated by doctors my entire life made me loathe them and not go. I just got fatter and fatter and avoided them more and more. I knew I had to have high blood pressure because I have a history on both sides and I was so obese but NO way was I going to see a doctor that would make me feel worse about myself than I already did. Then I had a stroke, caused by hypertension.

The doctor I have now, despite being a young resident, handled it better than ANY doctor I've been to in 39 years. He quietly sat down by my hospital bed about 3 days after my stroke and very gently asked if I had tried losing weight. He approached it in a way that was kind and most of all RESPECTFUL. Something no doctor had ever done before. Guess what, 111lbs later I'm 80lbs away from my goal and my doctor gets more excited when I weigh in at his office than I do. Perhaps they are finally teaching them how to talk to patients who need their help instead of judging them.

That said, the only thing that I didn't like in that article was when he said "And since many of the dangers of being fat are greatly exaggerated (if not completely fabricated)".... not true. There are many many very real dangers to being overweight/obese that can't be stressed enough.

I'm surprised on how uniformed doctors are. They say "lose weight". But with a large percentage of patients needing to lose weight I've NEVER met a doctor who really knows anything about what it takes.

Instead they should have some basics about what it takes to lose weight and give it to patients. Something from the Mayo clinic or the like. The best would recommendation would be MFP of course.

I would say most people who are trying to lose weight would benefit from some therapy. This may sound off the wall, but in Japan anyone who needs to lose weight must undergo therapy. Not saying this program is good or bad, but the fact that a whole country mandates it gives this idea some merit.

http://www.overcomingbias.com/2011/11/japans-fat-tax.html

I agree with this. I wish more doctors had solid nutritional training. Most of them just recommend some diet program instead of helping their patients learn to eat well and live well.

Ok, yeah I'm really overweight. I get that it causes a lot of health problems, thank you to all you uber buff and skinny people pointing out something that we are all painfully aware of, but I don't think your inflammatory comments about obese people really belong on a website where people are coming to change themselves.

Speaking to Dr's being crappy to overweight people? I think sometimes the fact a person is overweight can stop a doctor for looking for an underlying cause to a problem, or can cause them to attribute EVERY problem to the weight. A few years ago I sprained a toe. I went in to the doctor to make sure it wasn't broken, and came out being told I had gout and with a prescription for gout medication...... All because I was overweight. I didn't have a test done, I didn't have any of the classic gout symptoms (namely being 50+ and male). But because I was overweight, it couldn't be a simple sprained toe, it HAD to be something related to being fat right?

Idk. Headed back to the doctor this Friday, my foot hurts. I'm well aware that being fat causes your feet and joints to ache, but this is so bad I can hardly walk on my left foot. I've almost convinced myself I'm going to get the 'you're foot hurts because you are fat' response, but so far my doctor has been fairly sensitive to the weight issue, so we will see.

Okay... I realize I'm probably being naive right now

Pretty much.

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..........

My doctor told me that I would die by the time I was 35-40 if I didnt get my weight under control.

Okay... I realize I'm probably being naive right now, but I'm just wondering, how does a vegan get fat? If you're a true vegan? Do you eat like, 15 pounds of carrots a day? I really don't get it, I'm sorry...

Anyway, this woman just sounds like a whiny *kitten* to me that doesn't want to be told she has a DISEASE called OBESITY.

french fries and ketchup are vegan.

Haha some fries are vegan, but McD's got in a heap of trouble because theirs are fried in beef tallow.....or they were, before the angry vegans put a stop to it.........

They treat fat people the same way they treat smokers. Try being both!

The reality of it is that they are failing to see an opportunity. They make the most money off of obese, sick people.

Seriously, though, if you feel your doctor is being rude and judgmental towards you, you should talk to them about it. You are not just a patient, you are a customer.

Actually, a doctor's appointment was what finally motivated me to lose weight, and interestingly enough, he never said a word about it. I got on that scale, saw that number, and realized I had done this to myself.

Granted, I was still an average size (about one pound away from being in the overweight catagory), I had gained perhaps 15-20lbs between doctor visits and I was rather offended that my doctor DIDN'T say anthing. Didn't even question it, and it had only been less than a year between visits.

Though, thinking about it, I don't know if they keep track of what I am/was or if the doctor sees it at all and my baggy attire hides my extra pounds.

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..........

There is no guarantee that losing weight will make you healthy. Just as there is no guarantee that not losing weight will make you sick.

But being obese is a risk factor for most preventable diseases. Even being overweight raises risk. Losing weight takes away that risk. And in some cases, it may actually take away the disease.

Okay... I realize I'm probably being naive right now, but I'm just wondering, how does a vegan get fat? If you're a true vegan? Do you eat like, 15 pounds of carrots a day? I really don't get it, I'm sorry...

oreos, bread, olive oil, nuts, avocadoes. these are just a few vegan foods which are calorically dense.

Oreos are vegan? And bread? :huh: Aren't there animal products in those?

I know smokers that have perfectly healthy lungs right now....and drinkers who's livers are fine....doesn't meant that eventually these things will hurt their health. Same with fat, you may be fine right now...but somewhere down the line it could cause you a major health problem....so "damn these doctors telling us to lose weight! I haven't had a heart attack yet" damn these doctors telling me to quit smoking, I don't have cancer yet, etc. and etc. see how crazy that sounds? Do what the doctor says....if he says you'd be healthier long term with less weight on you that is a fact and not him "being mean" as you age your joints can't hold weight as well as when your young, and your risks for things go up the older you get (heart attack, stroke, etc.)

Honestly, I see the problem here. The fact is that being overweight or obese is a major contributing factor to most illnesses and diseases. However, sometimes weight is NOT the cause or contributor, and it would be nice if doctors would listen to all the facts and investigate enough to ensure their assessments are really the case. Also, sometimes there is a combination of issues going on, and if the doctor does not go beyond "it's your weight", you have more obstacles to overcome that aren't even aware of.

I've been obese my entire life. I totally get that it has been a contributing factor to the majority of my health issues. However, a few times there has been more going on. For example,

- I lost a baby at six months. After that, my body was kind of hormonally screwed up, and for no apparent reason I started getting a serious case of hives every single day. It took about a year to get this under control. It turned out that weight was, in fact, a contributing factor, but simply losing weight would not have solved the issue. After much allergy testing and treatment, one doctor finally theorized that GERD might be triggering hives. When we treated the GERD, the hives minimized and eventually went away. The GERD itself was likely triggered by my weight, but simply losing weight had no effect on the hives. I had to take prednisone, other allergy meds, and daily Zantac, AND other meds to help balance my hormones. The point here is the solution was a combination approach. If my doctors had not looked past my weight, I'd still be miserable with hives.

- Another example was my migraine diagnosis. When I was diagnosed, I was very heavy, but losing 100 pounds had no impact on my migraines. To her credit, my neurologist tested me for EVERYTHING. She believes migraines can be triggered by any number of things. It turns out mine are triggered mainly by barometric pressure changes. If she had just said lose weight, I might still be in the hospital with complete aphasia from the migraine symptoms.

I have other examples. I absolutely agree that my weight is an issue, and that the weight I have lost already has already helped things like my Fibromyalgia, Asthma, Back Pain, etc. All this is to say that while I agree obesity is a common contributing factor, doctors need to investigate beyond that to make sure there are no other causes or issues.

When I was a teen, or younger I hated going to the doctore, because no matter what I did I would ALWAYS hear you need to lose weight.

So....after I lost about 70lbs in high school.....I heard it again...and I looked at my mom...my mouth open a little and I was like " I just lost 70lbs " the doctor perked up with her little attitude " Oh...well...good for you .." I could not stand her!

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

Telling you what you already know is silly...What they need to do is give you the tools to achieve this healthier goal! Clearly overweight patients are having trouble on their own. What factors are involved.

Skinny is not always healthy...keep that in mind! I have a few very skinny friends and they have the worst eating habits. I consider myself more healthy then them anyday!

I'm sorry but I think that YOU are confused about what healthy means. Even if you only eat once per day and you eat 3,000 calories, that's still a ton. And I apologize if this sounds offensive, but there is no way that you got to three hundred pounds by not eating unless you have some sort of metabolic disorder. It is simple biochemistry. Your thin friends may eat worse things than you, but I'm guessing that they have other factors helping them, like:

1. More movement
2. Smaller portions
3. No binging
4. Good genetics

Doctors are not nutritionists. They are going to tell you the things that you probably already know, like avoid soda, sweets, fast food, eat veggies, complex carbs, and protein. Move more. Doctors can tell you all this stuff, but they can't force you to do it.

Skinny does not equate healthy, but do not belittle the importance of healthy weight ranges, as they are researched and prescribed for a reason after much research.