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Whaaat. Did a huge double take at this weight loss tv show (fat doctor)

Losingthedamnweight
Losingthedamnweight Posts: 538 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So i just watched this on hulu plus thinking "i like weight loss shows. This should be cool!" ready to binge watch seasons of this thing after watching my 600 pound life. (Here's the youtube link to the fat doctor show http://youtu.be/-2fycNd4y7w)

The difference between the two shows is astounding. On my 600 pound life, the doctor brought the people in for a consultation, asking them questions about their habits and what they eat and why they're fat and all that. And he has them PROVE they will stick to the weight loss after the operation by losing something like 30 lbs before the operation. After the operation, he brings them in for check ups and if they veer off their diet and eat a bunch of junk, he calls them on their crap and gets them back on track. AWESOME!

Then this fat doctor show...oh god that show is just cancer to watch. He brings in these overweight people and listens to their excuses and these huge people that are 300-400 lbs overweight and even more, say they "barely eat anything" and their "weight gain is a total shock". When the doctor talks to these people, he completely believes them when they say they eat a slice of bread and a grape a day and automatically recommends surgery. No talk of eating habits or calories or exercise. Just "let's get that stomach stapled pronto!"

I'm at a loss for words. I understand surgery is necessary in some situations, but i DO NOT want us to be a culture that turns to surgery as a first resort. What do you all think of this fat doctor show? I've only seen the first couple episodes but man...i was yelling at the tv

Replies

  • ea15792
    ea15792 Posts: 14 Member
    Just because they don't show the process doesn't mean there isn't one. In order to see a surgeon of this type you have to be referred by your GP. There are other episodes of the show that show patients going through counseling, seeing a dietitian, and there is even an episode that shows that the patient died in the end. Not to mention it also revisits at least one patient who had the surgery and then put the weight back on.

    I like the show, because it shows the struggles of being morbidly obese. I don't think it does a good job of showing the steps that patients have to take to qualify for the surgery or much of the post-care involved.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    When I tore my ACL, I got a warning from a friend...he said always get a second opinion about surgery because surgeons generally want to operate. That's their job and they don't get paid if they don't do it. Weight loss isn't the only area where people get operated on when they might not need to and maybe even shouldn't.
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 538 Member
    lol yes and no. I really feel for these people, but i'm always left in shock at these problems we have these days with obesity. You didn't see people 200 years ago crying their eyes out saying they have "tried everything and can't lose weight. The fat just keeps on coming!" but these days, barring some medical issues, nobody takes responsibility. You don't eat a grape and gain 200lbs. If things worked out like that, we could feed all of africa on a couple bunches of grapes a day and watch them get hopelessly fat.

    In those episodes of my 600lb life, he had a couple of his overweight patients stay in the hospital for 30 days under monitored supervision and surprise surprise! They lost a metric crap ton of weight after saying they've tried every diet. Except for 1 person who was there and actually gained a pound, while angrily saying she's "sticking to the diet perfectly" and accusing the doctors of not knowing what they're talking about, they found out the family was sneaking junk food in
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    edited January 2015
    Fat Doctor is also trying to convince the Brits that the NHS should cover these surgeries, and a big part of his sell is that fatness is a disease that people can't help.

    ETA: He also argues that skin surgery should be covered.
    The show has a political agenda that is relevant to Brits, not Americans.
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 538 Member
    ea15792 wrote: »

    I like the show, because it shows the struggles of being morbidly obese. I don't think it does a good job of showing the steps that patients have to take to qualify for the surgery or much of the post-care involved.

    I like watching the biggest loser every now and then (even while knowing how horrible the show is behind the scenes) but one of my many complaints about the show is that they focus so much on ridiculous competitions and survival style allienaces than actually teaching about being healthy and living an active lifestyle. So many people have fat logic because they don't know any different. I really wish nutrition education was more mainstream. All we get in the news is that professor at that university who went on the twinkie diet. And even then, the news people interviewing him were obsessing on buzzwords and the outrageousness of eating twinkies to lose weight, not what he was actually trying to bring awareness to, which is calorie restriction
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