UK to do away with the word "obese" in healthcare

2

Replies

  • selfishshellfish
    selfishshellfish Posts: 97
    Well, most hospitals and primary care people here seem to use the term 'bariatric' nowadays anyway.

    I will say this in defence of the idea: if the term 'obese' provokes a shame response in patients then its use may well be counterproductive. For a lot of people (yes, me included) being shamed tends to correlate with denial and defensive avoidance rather than constructive action.

    Having said all that, my real bugbear is the prefix 'clinically' which is often used incorrectly to add spurious authority to the term 'obese'.
  • muppetsbear
    muppetsbear Posts: 80 Member
    The words "morbidly obese" written on a health form written by my Dr said a lot more to me than you need to loose weight. I just saw my self as fat or overweight.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    The words "morbidly obese" written on a health form written by my Dr said a lot more to me than you need to loose weight. I just saw my self as fat or overweight.

    EXACTLY the same response I had. I was mortified being "obese."
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    All of this PC nonsense is just getting way out of hand. Next thing you know They will be insisting that everyone refrain from using the word hair so as to not offend the bald.
  • LilRiver
    LilRiver Posts: 81 Member
    What gets me, more than anything, is the picture used in the article. In all articles talking about obesity, really.

    That has done a lot to "damage" the word, imo. I'm not saying the word isn't useful - it clearly is, especially in a medical setting. But people who are obese don't think they are because when you hear the word you think it only applies to people such in the picture. So, then, when a doctor says "You're obese." it's this huge scary shock.

    Relative merits of BMI aside, obese is any BMI over 30. That woman looks to have a BMI over 45 which is morbid obesity or, even, super obesity.

    If people actually understood what obese meant (at my height it's 170lbs or somewhere in the size 12-14 range), there would not only be less shock when they're told they are obese, but I bet there'd be a heck of a lot less fat-shaming because, guess what, those scary news articles about how the obese are going to destroy the health care system and make countries go bankrupt (or whatever) probably includes a lot of those doing the shaming. (and shaming... does not help! especially for the emotional eaters or those whose weight is related to their depression).

    It's stupid to get rid of the word, but unless it's used accurately, it's relatively meaningless.
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    What gets me, more than anything, is the picture used in the article. In all articles talking about obesity, really.

    That has done a lot to "damage" the word, imo. I'm not saying the word isn't useful - it clearly is, especially in a medical setting. But people who are obese don't think they are because when you hear the word you think it only applies to people such in the picture. So, then, when a doctor says "You're obese." it's this huge scary shock.

    Relative merits of BMI aside, obese is any BMI over 30. That woman looks to have a BMI over 45 which is morbid obesity or, even, super obesity.

    TOTALLY agree with you there. I have a friend who is 5'7" and 260 lbs. Her BMI is 41. Because she doesn't look like the woman in the picture, she keeps thinking she's not obese..
    If people actually understood what obese meant (at my height it's 170lbs or somewhere in the size 12-14 range), there would not only be less shock when they're told they are obese, but I bet there'd be a heck of a lot less fat-shaming because, guess what, those scary news articles about how the obese are going to destroy the health care system and make countries go bankrupt (or whatever) probably includes a lot of those doing the shaming. (and shaming... does not help! especially for the emotional eaters or those whose weight is related to their depression).

    Not sure about the size 12-14. I'm a size 12/14, and overweight but not obese (BMI of 27 now).

    It's stupid to get rid of the word, but unless it's used accurately, it's relatively meaningless.

    Totally agree. Good points!
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
    Next they'll be like calling a diabetic a diabetic is offensive. Come on, obesity is a medical term.

    In healthcare settings, it is now "person first" terminology. So calling someone "a diabetic" is indeed offensive. They are a "person with diabetes".

    So maybe they can just not say "obese person" but "person who suffers from obesity"

    Or everyone can take their heads out of their *kitten* and get over this PC nonsense. No matter how it's said, fat is fat. A nicer word isn't going to ward off heart disease or diabetes.
  • LilRiver
    LilRiver Posts: 81 Member
    Not sure about the size 12-14. I'm a size 12/14, and overweight but not obese (BMI of 27 now).

    I'm a shortie (5'3) - so 170 puts me into a 14 and the occasional12. Of course, that's 100 lbs and many sizes from where I started and another 65 to get there. So I could be wrong, but it seems about right.

    (and 'grats on losing the "obese" status!)
  • BandedTriaRN
    BandedTriaRN Posts: 303
    Obese isn't a bad word. Geez, my Mom called me "Fat Lard" as a child... pretty soon I am moving into the USA official "overweight" category. Down from Morbidly obese and obese...
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Not sure about the size 12-14. I'm a size 12/14, and overweight but not obese (BMI of 27 now).

    I'm a shortie (5'3) - so 170 puts me into a 14 and the occasional12. Of course, that's 100 lbs and many sizes from where I started and another 65 to get there. So I could be wrong, but it seems about right.

    (and 'grats on losing the "obese" status!)

    Thanks!

    Sizing is weird. I'm 178 and a size 12/14, but I know women who are the same height as me who are a size 16/18 at the same weight. So confusing! :)
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Could just go back to the old term... FAT. (No, I don't advocate that and mean no harm in using the term...) Obese is a true medical term and quite frankly there is a time in which it must be used as the OP said... To provide a reality check... Making terms nicer will not save lives... What saves lives is taking action and removing obesity from people... not just their language.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    "Mentally Retarded" was once a valid term as well, and had a real meaning. Now there are campaigns to stamp out the word. Anything can get bastardized in usage. And there is always someone waiting to claim offense.

    I agree. The word "retarded" has become derogatory in slang language, so I can see the point there, but not with the term "obese" really. I rarely hear of the word "obese" being used in a derogatory fashion.

    Yeah, you don't hear "You're so [insert expletive here] obese" or something like that in slang usage, it's more like "You're an [insert expletive here] fata**. That's what people say when they *really* want to be mean.
  • bm99
    bm99 Posts: 597 Member
    Could just go back to the old term... FAT. (No, I don't advocate that and mean no harm in using the term...) Obese is a true medical term and quite frankly there is a time in which it must be used as the OP said... To provide a reality check... Making terms nicer will not save lives... What saves lives is taking action and removing obesity from people... not just their language.


    Fat is fat is fat is fat. Fat is not a horrible term.

    If someone means offense, no matter what sugar sweet words they use, you will know you are being insulted.
  • stacygayle
    stacygayle Posts: 349 Member
    "Dude quit acting so obese".


    Yeah, I don't think it works.

    :laugh:
  • stacygayle
    stacygayle Posts: 349 Member
    Unfortunately for me and my small stature, I am considered obese when people who are of average height are considered normal weight. So not fair. If I was only taller then I'd be the perfect weight for my height and not considered obese :tongue:
  • kazzari
    kazzari Posts: 473 Member
    This is just crazy to me: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9252311/Obesity-a-derogatory-word-says-Nice.html

    When I stared in 2010, I was quite obese with a BMI of 34. Realizing this was my wake-up call that shocked me out of denial and into living better and being healthier. I don't understand what doing away with the terminology is going to do for any obese person other than continue to feed into their denial about their weight and continue to support a society that is all about avoiding hurt feelings instead of encouraging better living. The term "obese" is a medical term, not a derogatory one.

    Ugh...

    That is just like the sizes in clothing, I have a pair of jeans from before I was married that are size 11/12 28 years ago but when comparing them to a pair of size 6 that my daughter use to wear they are about the same size. Head games are not healthy.

    It is different with clothing...it is not a head game. We discussed "vanity sizing" on another fitness site a while back and someone who worked in the clothing industry and was doing research on the sizing issue corrected us and explained why, for example, a size 4 is bigger than it used to be. Apparently, size 10 represents the average size of the members of a particular clothing line's demographic. As that population gets heavier on average, size 10 grows to fit the new average size for that clothing line, and so do all the other sizes grow proportionately. This also explains why a size 10 (or whatever) sold at Walmart runs larger than a higher end label of the same size...the demographic population for Walmart clothing lines tends to bigger than the demographic population for the high end label. It was a very interesting explanation and made perfect sense.
  • shadowkitty22
    shadowkitty22 Posts: 495 Member
    Personally I'm not obese and haven't been for awhile. I stepped off the cliff into morbid obesity some time ago and just apparently never really cared until the beginning of this year when the scale hit a whole brand new set of numbers that started with a THREE!

    SO. NOT. COOL.

    So that's when things finally got serious for me and I decided to turn my life around. I don't think my doctors ever even used the words obese or morbidly obese with me. I had one tell me that my weight would be fine for me if I was 7 foot tall. Haha. Turns out that didn't work either.

    So while I think getting rid of the word obese is kinda silly, I don't think stopping the use of it is really going to change anything for the obese people of the world. They're going to have to want to lose the weight on their own, regardless of the clinical term.

    But almost 4.5 months into this journey of mine, I've dropped 47 pounds and my BMI has gone down 7.82 points. I'm still morbidly obese and will continue to be obese for quite some time but I'm working on it and that's the important part. Kinda sad but I'm looking forward to the day when I can drop the "morbid" part of my obesity and just be considered "obese". I'm only 16 pounds away from that goal and then I can tackle getting through being obese to just overweight and then continue on into a healthy range. :)
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    This is just crazy to me: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9252311/Obesity-a-derogatory-word-says-Nice.html

    When I stared in 2010, I was quite obese with a BMI of 34. Realizing this was my wake-up call that shocked me out of denial and into living better and being healthier. I don't understand what doing away with the terminology is going to do for any obese person other than continue to feed into their denial about their weight and continue to support a society that is all about avoiding hurt feelings instead of encouraging better living. The term "obese" is a medical term, not a derogatory one.

    Ugh...

    That is just like the sizes in clothing, I have a pair of jeans from before I was married that are size 11/12 28 years ago but when comparing them to a pair of size 6 that my daughter use to wear they are about the same size. Head games are not healthy.

    It is different with clothing...it is not a head game. We discussed "vanity sizing" on another fitness site a while back and someone who worked in the clothing industry and was doing research on the sizing issue corrected us and explained why, for example, a size 4 is bigger than it used to be. Apparently, size 10 represents the average size of the members of a particular clothing line's demographic. As that population gets heavier on average, size 10 grows to fit the new average size for that clothing line, and so do all the other sizes grow proportionately. This also explains why a size 10 (or whatever) sold at Walmart runs larger than a higher end label of the same size...the demographic population for Walmart clothing lines tends to bigger than the demographic population for the high end label. It was a very interesting explanation and made perfect sense.

    It may make sense for the store, but it doesn't make sense for the consumer. Sizing should be based on a standard set of measurements. There are some stores I can't even shop in because their size 14's are the largest size and super tight on me. In other stores, a size 12 is a perfect fit, and these two stores are ext door to each other in the same mall. It's irritating. I've seen sizes range from 12 up to 16W with my measurements (32" waist and 45" hips).
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Personally I'm not obese and haven't been for awhile. I stepped off the cliff into morbid obesity some time ago and just apparently never really cared until the beginning of this year when the scale hit a whole brand new set of numbers that started with a THREE!

    SO. NOT. COOL.

    So that's when things finally got serious for me and I decided to turn my life around. I don't think my doctors ever even used the words obese or morbidly obese with me. I had one tell me that my weight would be fine for me if I was 7 foot tall. Haha. Turns out that didn't work either.

    So while I think getting rid of the word obese is kinda silly, I don't think stopping the use of it is really going to change anything for the obese people of the world. They're going to have to want to lose the weight on their own, regardless of the clinical term.

    But almost 4.5 months into this journey of mine, I've dropped 47 pounds and my BMI has gone down 7.82 points. I'm still morbidly obese and will continue to be obese for quite some time but I'm working on it and that's the important part. Kinda sad but I'm looking forward to the day when I can drop the "morbid" part of my obesity and just be considered "obese". I'm only 16 pounds away from that goal and then I can tackle getting through being obese to just overweight and then continue on into a healthy range. :)

    Congratulations on your progress!

    As to the doctor's comments, I think many doctors are afraid to use the word "obese" for fear of the patient being offended or getting upset. I wish they would use it more when necessary.

    Keep going! You can get to "healthy." :smile:
  • 13519485
    13519485 Posts: 264
    The UK is not going to "do away" with the term "obese" in healthcare. NICE's guidance is: http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/12109/59116/59116.pdf
    3.2 The Group noted that aiming for a ‘healthier weight’, rather than focusing on preventing or combating obesity, may be a more acceptable and achievable goal for many people. Members also felt this goal could be accommodated within a general health and wellbeing agenda. The PDG heard that the term ‘obesity’ may be unhelpful – while some people may like to ‘hear it like it is’, others may consider it derogatory. Bearing these differing views in mind, the PDG acknowledged the need to choose the most appropriate language for any given community or situation.

    and
    Directors of public health and local government communications leads should carefully consider the type of language and media to use to communicate about obesity. For example, it might be better to refer to a ‘healthier weight’ rather than ‘obesity’ – and to talk more generally about health and wellbeing or specific community issues. Making explicit the relevance of a wide range of initiatives to tackling obesity, for example, within annual reports may also be helpful.

    The draft guidance doesn't say anything about actually doing away with the term "obesity" completely. The main concern is tailoring patient care to achieve the most positive outcome. Some patients may respond well to talk of "obesity", and others may have the opposite reaction which could in turn inhibit their weight loss, and add to their obesity problem.

    It is possible that this draft guidance will change before it's issue in November, but I don't think even the final guidance will call for the complete cessation of using the term "obesity" in clinical practice, but only that practitioners use whatever language they feel will be beneficial on a patient by patient basis. Also, the final guidance in November will come complete with guidance directed specifically at medical practitioners. :smile:

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