If only doctors were actually punished for breaking it. Especially if you consider sexist/body shaming assholes that constantly tell fat women (and often even guys) their problems are because they’re fat.
Yeah, but there’s a difference between someone who is severely overweight due to poor diet and lack of physical activity, and someone who just has a slower metabolism and leads a healthy lifestyle. Doctors often don’t make that distinction, which leads to fatter people having consistently worse health outcomes, even when controlling for the increased health risks of being overweight.
In lots of cases, they’ll just tell the patient to lose weight even if they aren’t actually unhealthy in a weight-related way, which is useless if you happen to be fat and have literally any health problems besides being fat (to the extent that that is a health problem, which varies from individual to individual).
Ideal doc: “Look, your obesity is impacting your other health issues. Let’s treat them but dropping a few pounds would help too. Here are some resources to help you eat better and get some more exercise.”
Real doc: “You’re fat, that’s why you’re sick. Lose weight and you won’t be sick. No, I won’t prescribe anything.”
Agreed. I actually have a related story. I have a bunch of hormone issues so I used to be fat. I couldn’t have a baby and went to the doctor, the lady was very rude and it was clear she found me repulsive. She dismissed me and told me to lose weight and I’ll have a baby. She didn’t explain why. I was so outraged that I avoided doctors for years and stopped trying to find out why I couldn’t have a child. The thing is she was right, it was PCOS and I had a child when I lost the weight. If she hadn’t been so rude and dismissive, if she had mentioned PCOS at all, I wouldn’t have had my son in my late 30s, he was born with a more debilitating autism than me as a result. It’s definitely important to tell patients the truth even if it’s hard, but it’s just as important to come at it from a place of compassion and not blame.
Yeah, by accident. If she genuinely just assumed the problem was because you were fat and didn’t actually investigate other potential problems, it was a lucky guess. You do not need to give her credit for that, she’s still a shit doctor.
For those unaware (like me), PCOS = Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.
And yeah, agree, a place of compassion helps a lot! I myself eventually also want a baby but the problem is that as far as I recall, there have been only one uterus transplant for people like me, but hundreds for other gals. Can’t wait to get one once I’m ready to be a parent…
If someone with, say, a heart condition is overweight, explaining why that’s a problem isn’t sexist or body shaming. It’s a widely accepted medical fact. I’m against punishing doctors simply for telling people things they don’t want to hear.
That’s actually a good question. I assume that plastic surgeons take one of the modern versions of the Hippocratic Oath.
At what point do large breast implants constitute harm to the patient, and a violation of the oath?
If only doctors were actually punished for breaking it. Especially if you consider sexist/body shaming assholes that constantly tell fat women (and often even guys) their problems are because they’re fat.
A lot of problems are because of obesity though, it impacts everything :(
Yeah, but there’s a difference between someone who is severely overweight due to poor diet and lack of physical activity, and someone who just has a slower metabolism and leads a healthy lifestyle. Doctors often don’t make that distinction, which leads to fatter people having consistently worse health outcomes, even when controlling for the increased health risks of being overweight.
In lots of cases, they’ll just tell the patient to lose weight even if they aren’t actually unhealthy in a weight-related way, which is useless if you happen to be fat and have literally any health problems besides being fat (to the extent that that is a health problem, which varies from individual to individual).
That’s awful. So much discrimination in medicine.
Ideal doc: “Look, your obesity is impacting your other health issues. Let’s treat them but dropping a few pounds would help too. Here are some resources to help you eat better and get some more exercise.”
Real doc: “You’re fat, that’s why you’re sick. Lose weight and you won’t be sick. No, I won’t prescribe anything.”
dehumanizing obese people for correlating issues isnt a good thing
Agreed. I actually have a related story. I have a bunch of hormone issues so I used to be fat. I couldn’t have a baby and went to the doctor, the lady was very rude and it was clear she found me repulsive. She dismissed me and told me to lose weight and I’ll have a baby. She didn’t explain why. I was so outraged that I avoided doctors for years and stopped trying to find out why I couldn’t have a child. The thing is she was right, it was PCOS and I had a child when I lost the weight. If she hadn’t been so rude and dismissive, if she had mentioned PCOS at all, I wouldn’t have had my son in my late 30s, he was born with a more debilitating autism than me as a result. It’s definitely important to tell patients the truth even if it’s hard, but it’s just as important to come at it from a place of compassion and not blame.
Yeah, by accident. If she genuinely just assumed the problem was because you were fat and didn’t actually investigate other potential problems, it was a lucky guess. You do not need to give her credit for that, she’s still a shit doctor.
I guess it’s true what they say, a broken doc is still right twice a day.
You’re right
For those unaware (like me), PCOS = Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.
And yeah, agree, a place of compassion helps a lot! I myself eventually also want a baby but the problem is that as far as I recall, there have been only one uterus transplant for people like me, but hundreds for other gals. Can’t wait to get one once I’m ready to be a parent…
Yes sorry I should have explained. Good luck, I bet you’ll be an amazing parent.
If someone with, say, a heart condition is overweight, explaining why that’s a problem isn’t sexist or body shaming. It’s a widely accepted medical fact. I’m against punishing doctors simply for telling people things they don’t want to hear.
yea clearly thats what the commenter said /s
Like waaaaaaaay before this.
But, $$$$$$$, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯