Physicians Have Less Respect For Obese Patients, Study Suggests

Sometimes obesity causes health problems and sometimes it is caused by healthcare problems. Thyroid disorders and diabetes also cause obesity. To say that all obesity is caused by gluttony is ignorant. It's a shame doctors aren't better trained in treating diseases which result in obesity.

Im the first guy to admit i dont like obese people. i dont mind people who are fat, but dont like people who are disgustingly obese. the kind of people who almost need an electric wheelchari to get around.

it is digusting, and completly self inflicted. there is abosultly no need for this.

Originally posted by gnosis111



Ok maybe I came off a little harsh, BUT having thyroid problem is treatable and can be avoided through the right diet and exercise, and psychological is bull, I've dealt with anxiety and forms of depression, you don't HAVE to eat.

No ,it is not easy treating hypothyroidism. Most doctors do not understand how the thyroid works, and the blood tests often come back borderline even in cases of hashimotos disease. In the case of hashimotos, sometimes only a biopsy can prove the thyroid is not functioning. The numbers of doctors who specialize in indocrinology is actually small ,and the waiting lists of the good doctors are a mile long. People with thyroid problems must doctor shop. That is much easier said than done in this economy.

Most of what passes for weight loss diets will cause people with thyroid problems to gain weight. Adkins is the only diet which might help a little. Fasting, will not result in a substantial weight loss over a long period. Without adequate amounts of potassium, fasting might even result in death.

[edit on 23-10-2009 by eradown]

Yea every time i see a massive person at my favorite diner eyeballing the desert display after mowing down a huge plate of pasta and sugar drinks it makes me shiver. Thats JUST what you need, yea go for the giant cake the one with 2000 more calories, yup then wash it down with another coke.

I don't feel bad for them, i feel bad for the family's.

reply to post by Retikx


What would you expect them to do? Not look at the dessert tray. It is meant to be looked at; it is pretty. It is stranger that you go to restaurants and stare at people. I can't believe you actually notice what other people are eating. You must be eating at bad restaurants if all you do is stare at other people.



[edit on 23-10-2009 by eradown]

Originally posted by StevenDye


Now tell me you can only be obese by overeating. It's complete and utter rubbish to state that, and doctors have told her to make appointments with them, but she simply doesn't have the time. She diets every year and never loses more than a few pounds to a stone...

Erm, where does the fat on the obese people transfer from if they ain't eating like a horse all day?

People who are a little bit fat may not all be greedy bastards, but if you're around 40 stone or even heavier then I think it's attributed to guzzling all day!

70st Paul was giant jailbird

www.thesun.co.uk...

He eats 20,000 calories of food a day - EIGHT TIMES the official adult male average of 2,500.

Paul scoffs three family-sized takeaways a night and wolfs down Sunday roasts like snacks.

He has spent much of the past eight years in bed at his home in Ipswich, Suffolk.

His care costs taxpayers an estimated £100,000 a year.

And now he needs drastic stomach surgery to stop him eating and keep him alive - at a cost of £20,000 to the NHS.

Can you really expect anyone, never mind a physician, to have respect for the obese?

I'm sure most doctors can recognise between the fat people who are genetically storing more fats, from those who just eat all day! Generally there will be telltale signs of their diets in their skin, teeth, tongue etc.

If they ignore their physicians then they don't deserve respect!

[edit on 23-10-2009 by john124]

Originally posted by john124

Originally posted by StevenDye

Now tell me you can only be obese by overeating. It's complete and utter rubbish to state that, and doctors have told her to make appointments with them, but she simply doesn't have the time. She diets every year and never loses more than a few pounds to a stone...

Erm, where does the fat on the obese people transfer from if they ain't eating like a horse all day?

I think you both have valid points. Those with glandular or similar medical conditions resulting in obesity need respect and treatment if they are trying to control their weight but can't.

However those who don't have a glandular or similar medical problem, and just eat like a pig as in your example with no sense of control, don't deserve respect. That's why gluttony is considered a sin by some.

Now if you're like my friend, she says "If I just LOOK at food, I gain weight". Well in her case, she better NOT look at the dessert tray, and I say "Honey then you better stay out of the grocery store because you'll gain 10 pounds without eating anything if you go in there!"

reply to post by john124


Yes, you can gain weight eating almost nothing. Diabetes and thyroid diseases can cause the body to hold food and gain weight. Severe prolonged constipation is one source of weight gain in thyroid sufferers. This also causes lethargy further exasperating metabolic problems. Foods such as nuts, soybeans, beans, broccli, cauliflower and cabbage will negatively affect the thyroid leading to weight gain. It also does not take much of these foods to cause weight gain.

As a side issue ,people with Diabetes and thyroid problems will crave sugar and carbs. These are quick sources of energy. The cravings are the result of fatigue. The fatigue should be adressed to assure successful weight loss. Even if these cravings are ignored moderate weight gain is possible, and weight loss may not be possible even with rigorous dieting. People with thyroid problems should read the Thyroid Diet for more information on how diet can help or hurt the thyroid.

My sister-in-law has a disease called Polycystic Ovarian Cyst Syndrome which causes her to be obese. She has a particularly severe form of the disease, too.

When she goes to a doctor, ANY doctor, and they give her rude treatment because of her weight (which I have experienced firsthand, having taken her to doctor's appointments), she is less disposed to go to a doctor at all.

In fact, she has not been to an OB-GYN in years because once she tried to tell him about her diagnosis and he poo-pooed her and told her to "just lose some weight".

PCOS predisposes one to certain kinds of cancers as well as many other problems requiring regular examinations to make sure all is well; my sister-in-law has not had these. Additionally, many new treatments are available for PCOS since she was first diagnosed, some of which might actually help with her weight problem as well, since they are related. But she won't go, because she dreads receiving the same dismissive treatment that she once received at the hands of an insensitive, prejudiced doctor.

Arrogance and ignorance runs a muck...
Some people are naturally chubby, and can eat very little, and still have ample dimensions. My nephew was such child and adult. He was a huge baby, chubby kid, and eventually shot to nearly three hundred pounds by the time he was 30. He ate normally...he wasn't a hog. He tried every diet plan known to man...nothing worked. So he had gastric bypass surgery. He lost weight! He is now around 145 lbs, at 5'7"...he now eats foods weighed out in ounces...
His stomach capacity is that of a couple of table spoons...there is a lot he can no longer have. Poor guy!

It is easy to point and smugly make nasty comments. Not everyone that has a weight issue is a hog at the trough.

I suspect that my nephew was set up for problems since birth, because he was RH factor child...his dad and my sister should of never had a child together. That marriage was doomed in the beginning, and lasted nine months. My nephew also has allergies up the wazoo!

Like the old saying goes people; Until you've walked a mile in another man's shoes...

I started to become fat at about age 19. I went from my high school weight of 145 to 175 in just a year. I looked at my fathers beer-belly and said, "No way!". It only took another year to get it back down to 145. I'm now fluctuating in between 145-155. It's entirely dependent on what I put in me and how much energy I expend.

Saying that someone has bad genes or a thyroid problem is a cop-out. It's not all in the genes, ever. It's genes interacting with environment, which we do have control over to a large extent. Thyroid problems can be addressed and cured with proper treatment. Genetic tendencies towards a slow metabolism or something similar can be countered. I personally knew someone who was obese in high-school and now is built. He started jogging daily and switched his diet only.

I, too, am disgusted yet tolerant when I see people who are obese. It's about the same outlook I have for a pathological liar. It's 99% mind over matter here. Yes, you will have to work at it. Yes, you will feel horrible at first switching habits. Yes, it takes a lot of will power, but no more than quitting cigarettes.

reply to post by unityemissions


I did not always believe in thyroid problems either. Until I gained twenty pounds in one month. I was already struggling with extra pounds which no amount of dieting or exercise would banish. Then, I bought the Thyroid Diet book. Since then, I have lost all the weight I gained and more weight.

I am no longer overweight at all. It took several months. I also put up with some pretty humiliating comments from morons all too satisfied that I was a fatty. Funny how scarce those people become when the weight starts dropping off.I have also been dismissed by doctors. I know for a fact what part the thyroid plays in obesity. Problems can only be dealt with when they are correctly identified. My problem was my thyroid ,because of which I was gaining weight.

reply to post by eradown


I hope you understand I have nothing but respect for you. You saw a problem, and correctly addressed it. I know people have thyroid problems, but to simply use that as an excuse for staying fat/obese...that's what I have an issue with.

You are testimony to the fact that thyroid issues can be fixed with proper education. I may have had thyroid issues as well. I was constantly craving sugars before and for the next few months after dieting. It didn't matter. I simply knew what I intended and what actions I had to take in order to reach that goal.

I was eating 1000 to 1500 calories a day and walking a mile or two daily. I still couldn't shed a single pound. Instead, I kept gaining! And I was hungry all the time, but I wanted to lose weight. The whole stuff about diet and exercise is a lie, because I did that for years and kept gaining weight anyway. If it helped at all, I would have at least stayed the same weight.

I was diagnosed with high cholesterol one time and they mandated I see a dietitian. She basically called me a liar when I said how little I ate. Then the woman put me on what amounted to be a pancake diet, and I gained over 30lbs in a month on her wonderful diet! Plus, I was having blood sugar episodes all the time from all those pancakes she told me to eat every day, so I was having to eat extra protein to balance it out. I went off her diet and went back to my old diet and then I stopped gaining finally, but I couldn't lose weight either, no matter how much I exercised and starved myself.

I was having blood sugar problems from the time I was a teenager, and back then I was severely underweight. So the whole obesity causes diabetes is a lie too. The blood sugar problems might have contributed to my weight gain years later though.

Then I was finally diagnosed with auto-immune disease. In most people it causes weight loss, which could explain why I couldn't gain weight when younger. I got older and couldn't stop gaining weight no matter how much I starved myself.

I wasn't treated kindly by doctors when I was skinny, either, but yeah, I was treated even worse as I started gaining all of that weight.

reply to post by Jessicamsa


Even if you eat 1000 calories a day you can get fat. It is carbohydrate that is the problem. Cut your carbs not your calories. That dietitian you went to needs their liscence revoked.

reply to post by Aggie Man


You're just assuming this lack of respect is only showed by doctors in a worst case health issue scenario that is brought on by a persons obesity.

This attitude is across the board from ordinary general check ups like blood tests, to pap smears and consulting a doctor for things like thrush infections, colds and flu and a whole spectrum of health problems that any normal sized person can suffer from.

So it's not ALWAYS about a health issue that is obesity based.
It could be visit for a variety of common ailments.

Maybe people will remember this the next time they see a morbidly obese person getting cut out of their house and they say stupid things like....why didn't they see a doctor earlier? Jeez, after reading this about doctors attitudes, is it any wonder why?

If a person feels too uncomfortable visiting health specialists while they are overweight and obese, it's easy to see how they can get MORBIDLY OBESE
without the proper support.



[edit on 23-10-2009 by Flighty]

Yes, many people who are grossly obese would lose weight by choosing healthier foods and exercising more.....but there is still an underlying psychological problem that many obese people have: emotional overeating.

In emotional overeating, the person uses food to generate feelings of calm, safety, happiness. Perhaps this started when the person was a young child; he fell and skinned his knee, so Mom consoled him with a cookie. Over time, the person begins to associate pleasant feelings with food.

Once this happens, the person becomes stuck in a catch-22. The more he eats and gains weight, the worse he feels....to make himself feel better, he turns to food for comfort.....and gains more weight. It's a devastating problem.

And the truly sad part is that when the person seeks medical help, he or she typically faces blaise replies about getting more exercise and eating healthier. But unless that underlying dependency on food for comfort is addressed, the person will never be able to lose the weight. And unless the medical doctor offers help for that dependency, the patient may never overcome the addiction.

Perhaps the next time you see an obese person you should ask, "What events in this person's life causes them to eat?" It may just be gluttony, but it might be something more.

reply to post by cenpuppie


I'm not at all surprised. I think if my Doctor was Obese I'd have a lesser opinion of them too so it doesn't bother me to think it works the other way. That being said I think those Doctors better get used to treating the obese with respect, after all it doesn't look like the collective waist of America is going to be shrinking any time soon.

Originally posted by gnosis111



Ok maybe I came off a little harsh, BUT having thyroid problem is treatable and can be avoided through the right diet and exercise, and psychological is bull, I've dealt with anxiety and forms of depression, you don't HAVE to eat.

A little??? You were harsh to cast a blanket judgment on people who are overweight or obese. There are so many organ and glandular disorders not to mention medications that could cause weight conditions it's unbelievable. Yes the thyroid is just one of the causes. In 1991 I had a hyperactive thyroid and the treatment at the time was to take medicine to kill as they said a part of the gland. Years later I discovered there was no such thing as you kill a part of a specific gland no you damage the whole gland. Needless to say it took nearly 16 years for my thyroid to function normally again but until that happened I gained 61 pounds in spite of being active all my life. I was never obese but I can understand how a person can gain weight without it having a thing to do with eating a certain way or being inactive physically or as you put it not be in control.

I am so tired of all these excuses for peoples bad habits whether it be drugs, alcohol or eating, hell most child molesters and murderers have psychological problems but you wouldn't defend them in the same manner.

You being tired is ok but again you assume too much. You can't attribute the fatness of many on this planet to being fast food gobbling maniacs excusing themselves by saying they can't push away from the table.

And yes there are so many skinny or "fit" people that are very unhealthy, I have a friend who eats so much fast food and garbage but he still looks thin. That doesn't changed the fact that most people are unhappy when they are overweight and this thread is about those people who go to doctors for their obesity and are treated with discrimination, when they do have complete control of their weight.

Nobody likes being discriminated against but I have found over the years there are some folks who thinks it's ok as long as they're not the recipients of this treatment.

Discrimination is wrong, if it's frown upon to do so based on skin color, religion, sexual preference, etc why should fat discrimination be tolerated? What I find fascinating is how many physicians are overweight so apparently this study was very small or if it was a big study using thousands then there are a lot of self hating fat doctors.



[edit on 24-10-2009 by Chai_An]