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Does your doctor comment on your weight?
Replies
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I see a gastroenterologist for my liver and he’s mentioned my weight. I’m 5’6” F and at the time I was 218lbs. Went back for a 6 month check up and was down to about 200 lbs even. I have moderate-severe non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a hepatic adenoma. It was actually kind of funny because the guy is normally incredibly blunt and matter of fact but at my six month check up he hesitated at calling me morbidly obese even if that’s what my BMI says (I also clearly have a larger frame). I had to say it for him when he started trying to talk about BMI 😂 But he gave me a year reprieve of further tests provided I can continue to lose weight and hopefully get my liver to respond. He’s the ONLY doctor to ever mention that I need to lose weight. My regular doctors (moved a bit so more than 1) would ask about my diet but never say “you’re overweight and need to lose pounds”. But I’ve always been lucky with low blood pressure, normal cholesterol and normal A1C values - they keep testing me for diabetes for some reason. I feel like doctors don’t like to bring up weight unless there’s an issue.3
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The only time I go to the doctor is for my annual wellness check, but she almost always comments on my weight. I joined MFP in 2011 at 158# (I'm 5'10). I took off 20# in two months. My doctor commented favorably but also told me not to lose anymore because it could increase my risk factor for osteoporosis. (Although I lift weights and do high impact exercise - running - so I'm not worried about it.) When I went in in 2013 my weight was 132# and she started to lecture me but I told her it was a false low because I was dehydrated from running a relay race in the heat the day before. (It returned to normal over the next couple days.) Over the years she would mention that I was doing a good job of maintaining - and then a couple years ago my weight started going up and she commented on that - not that I was at an unhealthy weight but that I was trending up. When I went in last fall I was expecting a lecture because I gained 15-20# from August 2020 - Oct 2020 (my BF and I were in extended celebration mode after moving in together) and was at my highest weight ever by several pounds, but she didn't say a word. I'm wondering if it was some kind of "pandemic reprieve." I have my next wellness check in October so I've got 38 days to make some progress so I don't get a talking to by my doctor. All my numbers are good - blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar. I very much appreciate how thorough she is and that she's not afraid to be honest with me.10
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I wish doctors were more straight forward with commenting on people weight, when its a health issue. I always find it amazing that we are a society that has become so "okay" with prescribing meds the second someone has high cholesterol or blood pressure but god forbid we discuss what actually caused it (yes I know it's not always a weight issue) The truth is that obesity is a bigger pandemic than most......8
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My doctor mentioned it in term of 'your labs are high, losing weight may help them go down' hence the start of trying to lose weight.5
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Yes because I'm severely underweight (bmi 15.6) because of health issues. It's always a topic of discussion5
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autobahn66 wrote: »Hi everyone,
People argue that being overweight by its nature is unhealthy I take it to mean that, as a lot of evidence shows, the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis etc increase with increasing weight. The studies which showed this did not often look at more complex metrics than BMI, and have many confounders (such as socioeconomic status which is highly correlated to weight) but have been done on huge populations. The sheer number of people studied gives strong evidence that on average being heavier increases the risk of specific diseases, although each disease risk is somewhat independent. Specific evidence of an impairment in general wellbeing is harder to come by: although I believe there are some studies which also support this and it can be inferred from the higher rates of physical health problems (and concomitant other life/mental health issues) in overweight populations.
This is completely a straw-man argument to say that research on health effects of obesity is flawed because it relies on BMI rather than more relevant measures like % body fat. Yes, BMI is imperfect as a measure. That means that if health effects are found using BMI as the guide for obesity, then the health effects would probably be EVEN MORE clear and more pronounced if you were using a really good measure of obesity.5 -
The only time a doc commented on my weight was when I was very pregnant. Apparently, she felt it was a good idea to tell the super hormonally-emotional pregnant lady that she was gaining weight too quickly. I seriously only had a couple of months left in the pregnancy and all my labs showed that I and my baby were healthy. I already felt like a whale, I didn't need that.
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I see a Family Nurse Practitioner, and I LOVE him. We've discussed my weight. We've discussed it when it was up (and how it impacts my labs, etc), when it was down, and when it's crept back up. He's super supportive, offers resources (referrals to see a Registered Dietician, etc), and is just overall amazing. When I went in last year, and had experienced some re-gain during the pandemic, he empathized with me, and identified as having done the same. We both committed to tackling it. I see him again in December. I'm down 43 now. We'll see how he's done.5
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My doc commented on my weight once. He said your BMI puts you in the overweight range so maybe you should lose a few pounds. It was 26. I responded, but doc my body fat is under 15%. He looked at me a little confused and did not respond. I found a new doc...6
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dralicephd wrote: »The only time a doc commented on my weight was when I was very pregnant. Apparently, she felt it was a good idea to tell the super hormonally-emotional pregnant lady that she was gaining weight too quickly. I seriously only had a couple of months left in the pregnancy and all my labs showed that I and my baby were healthy. I already felt like a whale, I didn't need that.
Maybe she didn't use the best bedside manner but I'm thinking the doctor wanted you to do what you could to keep it that way.
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I was gonna say, I feel like doctors should continue to tell pregnant women when they are gaining too rapidly, regardless of whether they like it. For one thing, it’s not information you can assume that every pregnant woman knows - I have friends who gained massive amounts during pregnancy because they had always been told that this was a time they could eat everything.Theoldguy1 wrote: »dralicephd wrote: »The only time a doc commented on my weight was when I was very pregnant. Apparently, she felt it was a good idea to tell the super hormonally-emotional pregnant lady that she was gaining weight too quickly. I seriously only had a couple of months left in the pregnancy and all my labs showed that I and my baby were healthy. I already felt like a whale, I didn't need that.
Maybe she didn't use the best bedside manner but I'm thinking the doctor wanted you to do what you could to keep it that way.
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »dralicephd wrote: »The only time a doc commented on my weight was when I was very pregnant. Apparently, she felt it was a good idea to tell the super hormonally-emotional pregnant lady that she was gaining weight too quickly. I seriously only had a couple of months left in the pregnancy and all my labs showed that I and my baby were healthy. I already felt like a whale, I didn't need that.
Maybe she didn't use the best bedside manner but I'm thinking the doctor wanted you to do what you could to keep it that way.
You're not wrong. Doesn't mean I had to like it.
I think I wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. At that point, I was exhausted and just wanted to not be pregnant anymore. It felt like an added thing to worry about and a hit to my already fragile body image at the time. Oh well. She was doing her job. I just didn't like it.6 -
dralicephd wrote: »The only time a doc commented on my weight was when I was very pregnant. Apparently, she felt it was a good idea to tell the super hormonally-emotional pregnant lady that she was gaining weight too quickly. I seriously only had a couple of months left in the pregnancy and all my labs showed that I and my baby were healthy. I already felt like a whale, I didn't need that.
My ob commenting on me gaining too much weight while pregnant was one of two times a doctor has ever commented in any way about my weight (the other time being when I had lost some weight). I and my baby were healthy, too, but I knew I was gaining too quickly, and I wasn't a small person too start out with since my weight was high-normal BMI when I got pregnant. It didn't really bother me too much, and actually I wish I had gained less weight since it would have probably come off more easily, and I'm wondering if maybe I wouldn't have ended up with a c-section.6 -
Doctors should tell pregnant women when they are gaining too quickly. No reason to get offended. I say this having recently been pregnant. My baby is 3 months old.6
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I think the only time the Dr. came close to addressing the weight issue was 10 years into constant prednisone for hives, after I had gained so much weight he said, "You can be on prednisone for 2 weeks and not gain. It is possible." But yeah, I was like - I would love to be off the prednisone. But I think he was attempting to address the issue. In a roundabout manner. He didn't outright say, "Loose weight, here is how." Prednisone is a big meanie.5
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I have had doctors in the past comment on my weight, my last doctor was the worst. No understanding about anything just that I was over weight. I quit going to him at the beginning on this year. The doctor I have now hasnt said anything and is very understanding3
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Doctors should tell pregnant women when they are gaining too quickly. No reason to get offended. I say this having recently been pregnant. My baby is 3 months old.
Why? Does it harm the baby somehow to gain weight quickly vs slowly?
I remember my doctor telling me the same thing (many years ago) when I gained 7 lbs one month. Made some snide comment about "eating too much ice cream" and how I'd just have a lot more to lose. But everyone I know who has been pregnant has been like that, big jumps in weight some months. I think I ended up gaining 32 lbs total, at 5' 10" and starting weight of 130. Sometimes doctors are just *kitten*.
(He also told me my 10 lb baby was going to be "average size" - I switched doctors for the next two.)
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Doctors should tell pregnant women when they are gaining too quickly. No reason to get offended. I say this having recently been pregnant. My baby is 3 months old.
Why? Does it harm the baby somehow to gain weight quickly vs slowly?
I remember my doctor telling me the same thing (many years ago) when I gained 7 lbs one month. Made some snide comment about "eating too much ice cream" and how I'd just have a lot more to lose. But everyone I know who has been pregnant has been like that, big jumps in weight some months. I think I ended up gaining 32 lbs total, at 5' 10" and starting weight of 130. Sometimes doctors are just *kitten*.
(He also told me my 10 lb baby was going to be "average size" - I switched doctors for the next two.)
It doesn't hurt the baby per se but it can be a sign of some pretty major issues and obesity in general leads to a worse outcome for mother and baby in delivery.
That said that doctor was still a jerk - there's a difference between concern for real issues and telling you to lay off the ice cream.9 -
wunderkindking wrote: »Doctors should tell pregnant women when they are gaining too quickly. No reason to get offended. I say this having recently been pregnant. My baby is 3 months old.
Why? Does it harm the baby somehow to gain weight quickly vs slowly?
I remember my doctor telling me the same thing (many years ago) when I gained 7 lbs one month. Made some snide comment about "eating too much ice cream" and how I'd just have a lot more to lose. But everyone I know who has been pregnant has been like that, big jumps in weight some months. I think I ended up gaining 32 lbs total, at 5' 10" and starting weight of 130. Sometimes doctors are just *kitten*.
(He also told me my 10 lb baby was going to be "average size" - I switched doctors for the next two.)
It doesn't hurt the baby per se but it can be a sign of some pretty major issues and obesity in general leads to a worse outcome for mother and baby in delivery.
That said that doctor was still a jerk - there's a difference between concern for real issues and telling you to lay off the ice cream.
Back in the 60's when I was born my mother's doctor told her she was gaining WAY to much weight, and went so far as to put her on a strict diet, and told her that she was going to have a huge baby.
Only AFTER I was born at 5lb 1oz did they realize that there were two babies, and my twin sister was born a few minutes later.
I grew up hearing that story so maybe it has influenced my view of doctors commenting on pregnant women's weight gain.
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Many of the (Australian) pregnancy magazines I read whilst expecting in 2004 mentioned that 1) weight gain was probably inevitable (weight loss was cause for medical concern) but that minus the weight of the baby/waters etc, 5-10kgs was probably "normal" and that expectant mums might experience ligament/joint/muscle issues if weight was gained quickly or more than 10kgs was gained during the pregnancy. When you consider the strain that carrying a full-term baby plus 10 or more kilos would put on a tired, hormonal person, I can understand why doctors might be concerned about a sudden or "excessive" weight gain ("" because excessive means something different to everyone). Of course, I think doctors treating expectant people should have a better bedside manner.
I gained about 5kg, and if it weren't for the untreated "sick-all-day-and-night" morning sickness I probably would have gained more.3 -
I think 10 kg is considered about the right amount to gain
Of course there are other factors influencing what is best for each person - but as a rough rule of thumb.3 -
paperpudding wrote: »I think 10 kg is considered about the right amount to gain
Of course there are other factors influencing what is best for each person - but as a rough rule of thumb.
Really? That seems way too low to me - I have always heard 25 - 35 lbs is recommended amount for an average weight woman.3 -
Late the the thread - answering the original question:
My cardiologist never talks about weight. Don't know about my new PCP as we won't meet until next month. Besides, what do 95% of docs KNOW about nutrition? Having several docs as friends I came to learn that nutrition is a single course during their undergrad days. One freaking course on nutrition! They! Do! Not! Know! Nutrition!
So I stumble on with my wife and we dig in to the research. <sigh/>1 -
My doctor will talk about it if I bring it up. I have been losing weight and I slowly gained weight in my last pregnancy, so I got more positive comments about my weight from my doc. Also, because I was working with a nutritionist, she just said that was great.0
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paperpudding wrote: »I think 10 kg is considered about the right amount to gain
Of course there are other factors influencing what is best for each person - but as a rough rule of thumb.
Really? That seems way too low to me - I have always heard 25 - 35 lbs is recommended amount for an average weight woman.
Yes really.
I did say 10 kg, not 10 lb.
Which is about 22 lb.
Slightly lower than your range but not way lower.
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KeithBarrows wrote: »Late the the thread - answering the original question:
My cardiologist never talks about weight. Don't know about my new PCP as we won't meet until next month. Besides, what do 95% of docs KNOW about nutrition? Having several docs as friends I came to learn that nutrition is a single course during their undergrad days. One freaking course on nutrition! They! Do! Not! Know! Nutrition!
So I stumble on with my wife and we dig in to the research. <sigh/>
But the question was Does your doctor comment on your weight - not Does your doctor comment on your nutrition.
Doctors don't need to know detail about nutrition to know about healthy weight ranges.
I would expect a doctor to refer somebody to a dietician if they need detailed nutrition advice - but that the starting point for that might be a need to reduce weight.
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KeithBarrows wrote: »Late the the thread - answering the original question:
My cardiologist never talks about weight. Don't know about my new PCP as we won't meet until next month. Besides, what do 95% of docs KNOW about nutrition? Having several docs as friends I came to learn that nutrition is a single course during their undergrad days. One freaking course on nutrition! They! Do! Not! Know! Nutrition!
So I stumble on with my wife and we dig in to the research. <sigh/>
Just popping by to say hello to a fellow Scadian.
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My doctor hasn't said anything other than congratulations, and asked me how I did it (presumably to make sure I wasn't doing something unsafe) and was understanding when I said, "Something's wrong, because my weight loss has stopped dead in the water." (My thyroid has crapped out. Surgery to remove the tumors in January hopefully.)
I'm sorta-kinda trying to maintain at this point because I am also going to try to get a breast reduction and they like you to be at the same weight for six months. Which I have been, thanks to thyroid. (sigh)4 -
MargaretYakoda wrote: »Just popping by to say hello to a fellow Scadian.
Hello m'Lady (as I have no idea your rank - yet.) Lord Iohannes at your service. Once of An Tir, then the Outlands where I became the 2nd Squire to Sir Leifr, now residing in Trimaris (Shire of Sangre del Sol). But shhh! We never told anyone we were here since we moved in 3 years ago.
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KeithBarrows wrote: »MargaretYakoda wrote: »Just popping by to say hello to a fellow Scadian.
Hello m'Lady (as I have no idea your rank - yet.) Lord Iohannes at your service. Once of An Tir, then the Outlands where I became the 2nd Squire to Sir Leifr, now residing in Trimaris (Shire of Sangre del Sol). But shhh! We never told anyone we were here since we moved in 3 years ago.
An Tir here. But my tiny shire in the middle of nowhere didn’t survive the pandemic, sad to report.
Fortunately my son and his wife now live in the thriving Barony of Baltha An Oir. So there are still events in our future.
In my years of medieval re-enactment I’ve been a Pied Piper, a herald - mostly field heraldry, which is great fun and lots of walking - but also book heraldry and illumination/scribe, and court herald on occasion. Many times an event autocrat, which is fun if you delegate properly
,
I’ve entered arts and science competitions, but mostly to ensure there were the minimum of three entries, so someone else had a chance to be a champion.
I spin, and weave, and sew. I can sing a ribald tune, or an inspirational filk, depending on the occasion. All thanks to my SCA participation.
Fun story, re your proper use of m’lady.
I have never taken the game (it is a game) so seriously that I thought pretend nobility were more important than pretend peasants (my persona is a peasant).
And so, on Thursday night, during 30 year,
No (kitten) there I was….
I had my then ten year old son with me. My husband had to work most of that week, so it was just the two of us, in a tiny tent.
I chose to set up very near a large group of portable toilets. That way my son would have a good geographic marker to find our tent should he ever get lost.
Anyhow…. Southern Washington State, Thursday evening in late April, 1998…
We’re sound asleep. Because we’re in the quiet camping section . Y’know. Where the families are camped.
Around 3 AM there is noise on the wide path outside the tent.
Lots of noise.
Lots and lots of drunken noise.
I peeked out of the tent, and saw a couple hundred people. All lined up for the porta-potties. They kept getting louder and louder.
Imagine a rave. Right outside your bedroom window. A medieval rave. Complete with hurdy gurdies and belled jesters.
After half an hour (yes. I timed it) I had had enough. I stuck my head outside the tent and screamed at the top of my lungs “SHUT UUUUUUP!!!!!!!” and then pulled my head back inside and went back to sleep, in the blissful silence.
Fast forward a decade. My son and I were at a black smithing class. SCA, of course. The instructor was a BIG DEAL, rather high up in An Tir’s Order of Precedence.
He began a story about how it really is all a game. And how, at 30 year, on Thursday night, it was the night the King and Queen of Drachenwald had finally arrived on site. So all the Kings and Queens, and every Baron and Baroness, and most Pelicans and other High Muckity Mucks were partying.
They decided to tour their world, such as it was. And they got drunker and drunker as they went along. Eventually forgetting there was a quiet section. Where children were sleeping. Mere yards away from the large collection of portable toilets.
When the “crazy woman” stuck her head out of her teeny tiny tent and told basically every pointy hat in the entire known world to “shut up” it was a hilarious, but necessary reminder.
I laughed so hard, and admitted it was me. And that they had woken up my son.
Had it not been a game? It would likely not have ended as a funny story the Barons and Pelicans tell each other over their camp fires.
😉
OK. That’s enough time off topic.5
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