Does your body type hurt your chances of acceptance?

[smuwillobrien]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Does your body type hurt your chances of acceptance?

 

[smuwillobrien]

I don't think people are voting correctly, because I know for a fact that more of us are heffers than not.

 

[uclakid]

I'm sure your physical appearance tells them if you sincerely care about health (...obesity)...

 

[MoCookiess]

My dad seems to think this is pretty important and is giving me grief about it.... Anyone out there who felt like their heavier than average appearance had anything to do with their chances of acceptance?

 

[hmno82]

To find out if you are healthy, calculate your BMI (body mass index). It does not take into consideration people with massive amounts of muscle, but it can give you a good idea of where you stand.

BMI:

(weight in pounds / height in inches squared) x 703

ex. ME

(125 lbs/ 64 inches squared) x 703 = 21.6

If you are between 20-25 you are a healthy individual. Anything above is overweight, anything below is underweight. Both are bad and increase your chances of morbidity and mortality.

I think as future doctors we should work toward a healthy body weight to serve as an example to our patients.

 

[farley is god]

I was once told by an MD that I have the right height and body to become a doctor.

:-/

 

[smuwillobrien]

I weigh 405 pounds and I'm 5 foot 10, however, I do think I have a good personal story that can make up for my weight problem. As an orphan growing up in Canada I had no food to eat, so when fortune struck and my benefactoress Ms. Havisham provided me with money to get an education, I used it to provide myself with ample food.

 

[quideam]

Originally posted by smuwillobrien
I weigh 405 pounds and I'm 5 foot 10, however, I do think I have a good personal story that can make up for my weight problem. As an orphan growing up in Canada I had no food to eat, so when fortune struck and my benefactoress Ms. Havisham provided me with money to get an education, I used it to provide myself with ample food.

 

[smuwillobrien]

Uh, oh. According to the BMI scale posted above my BMI is 58.

 

[smuwillobrien]

Also, I would like to know if medical schools will pay for crane operating fees to help me lower myself into their buildings for classes and also whether they would be willing to provide me with half of the blimp fair to the interviews?

 

[irie]

Your looks play a role in how what you say is taken in by other people in every conversation you have.

 

[hmno82]

I totally agree with irie. If you're a cardiologist and tell patients that they have to lower their body weight, but you can't even see your shoes because your stomach is in the way, how can patients have faith in anything you say? Same with smoking... gross! I read a few weeks ago that people who are "attractive" have more success in life and actually end up getting paid about 10,000 more than people who aren't. I don't agree with it, but it just shows that people assume that you are more intelligent, comfortable to be around, and better able to handle their problem if you look nice. It was an AOL article in case anyone wants to try and find it.

 

[smuwillobrien]

Uh, so people assume that Pamela Anderson is smarter than Richard Stallman because she looks more attractive?

 

[Megalofyia]

Originally posted by smuwillobrien
Uh, so people assume that Pamela Anderson is smarter than Richard Stallman because she looks more attractive?

They assume they'd rather look at her for four years than Richard Stallman.

 

[smuwillobrien]

Sorry. I have no idea how your reply answers my question.

 

[Megalofyia]

Originally posted by smuwillobrien
Sorry. I have no idea how your reply answers my question.

I thought you were asking as in if they were hypothetical medical students. I was being facitious. Of course no one ACTUALLY thinks Pamala Anderson is smarter based solely on her appearance. Your question, if taken serious, is then just stupid.

 

[nibrocli]

i had a primary care physician who was obese. she was one of the best doctors i ever went to. she made me feel like she actually cared about my well-being, and she listened to me. i never once thought about her weight.

the only reason she's not my doc anymore is that i moved.

 

[smuwillobrien]

Hey Megalofyia. I guess my question has something in common with you then.

 

[Sharky]

I think fat heifers and skinny toothpicks all should have the opportunity to be a doctor.

 

[DocWannaBe85]

ah, the tragic flaw.

 

[heifer]

i'm a rake, but also a heifer. can i vote twice?

 

[basupran]

I have a BMI of 31...my goal is slightly over 33 🙂

 

[DocStretch]

hmno82, I'm not thinkin' that that BMI calculation is correct. I'm 6'5" and 185 and that formula is putting me soundly in the overweight range. Here's a link from NIH that'll calculate your BMI for you without any thought at all...
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm

To save anyone the trouble of needing a crane to get into the med school, there's also a menu planner on the site.

 

[uclacrewdude]

Originally posted by uclakid
I'm sure your physical appearance tells them if you sincerely care about health (...obesity)...

finally, a pre-allo thread that isnt self-important 🙄

obesity does not, especially if youre involved in significant ECs and do at least something athletic in your free time, which most medical students do.

since you go to ucla (and seem fairly uninformed) go talk to either dr. jake lusis or dr. john merriam, the profs that teach MCDB 156: Human Genetics.

 

[*hopefully*]

I've always wondered about applicants that look obviously anorexic. Isn't that a direct reflection of their mental/emotional state?

 

[hmno82]

Originally posted by DocStretch
hmno82, I'm not thinkin' that that BMI calculation is correct. I'm 6'5" and 185 and that formula is putting me soundly in the overweight range. Here's a link from NIH that'll calculate your BMI for you without any thought at all...
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm

To save anyone the trouble of needing a crane to get into the med school, there's also a menu planner on the site.

Nope, the formula is correct. You just did it wrong 😉 (oops!). I'll do it for you:

(185 lbs / (77 inches x 77 inches)) x 703 = 21.9

Seems normal to me! I was kidding about the "you're wrong" thing too, so don't get mad at me. 😀

 

[DocStretch]

Yea, I thought that might have been the case with my calculations (I used 67" instead of 77" 🙄 ). I'm going to take that as a sure sign I could use some more sleep and call it a night on that note...

 

[wolferman]

I'm told all the time by people who learn that I'm going to medical school that I "look like a doctor". With no exaggeration, I've been told this at least a dozen times by separate individuals over the last couple years. Does anyone else get this same comment?

Stranger yet is that despite being half black and living in predominantly-white Idaho, I somehow manage to exude a doctorly look to these individuals, even though I doubt most of them have ever met a black doctor in Idaho. I know I haven't.

 

[No Egrets]

Originally posted by wolferman
I'm told all the time by people who learn that I'm going to medical school that I "look like a doctor". With no exaggeration, I've been told this at least a dozen times by separate individuals over the last couple years. Does anyone else get this same comment?

I agree that you look like a doctor. I once had a doctor with a big question mark on his face. He didn't wear a cap, though.

 

[LauraMac]

what difference does it make what you look like? i really hate how society bases everything on how you look. i sure hope people aren't offered/denied admissions based on how they look. i guess in some way it plays a role whether you want it to or not, but people should make a conscious effort not to let someone's appearance take away from what that person can offer.

as for me, i would go to any kind of doctor - lots of piercings, dyed hair, short, tall, fat, skinny, healthy, unhealthy. if my doctor smokes a pack a day, but tells me it's very unhealthy i will still get the message.

 

[MrTee]

Originally posted by uclacrewdude
finally, a pre-allo thread that isnt self-important 🙄

obesity does not, especially if youre involved in significant ECs and do at least something athletic in your free time, which most medical students do.

since you go to ucla (and seem fairly uninformed) go talk to either dr. jake lusis or dr. john merriam, the profs that teach MCDB 156: Human Genetics.

Obesity does not what? If you mean that being obese does not mean you don't care about your health so long as you have good EC's and do something athletic...I disagree. Being obese is very rarely due to heredity. Your own choices in diet and physical activity levels are the primary causes of being obese. If one joins an IM badminton team and has the best ECs in the world does not change this fact.

I don't quite understand what uclakid is talking about...not being obese in itself tells you nothing about a person caring for his own health--just that he doesn't eat enough cals to get fat. The opposite situation however, is more telling. It doesn't make sense for an obese person to claim to care a lot about his health...obesity is a risk factor for so many ailments. If he cared so much, he wouldn't be obese right?

Btw, what would Dr. Merriam or Lusis tell me to change my mind?

 

[MrTee]

In regard to the OP, I don't think it really should affect the outcome of your admission to med school if you're fat or skinny...but like others have pointed out, people make snap judgements the second they meet you. It might play a minor role, and if some is truly that worried...remember that vertical stripes slimming 🙂

 

[irie]

Originally posted by smuwillobrien
Sorry. I have no idea how your reply answers my question.

If you think a thread is going to stay 100% on topic on SDN you are sorely mistaken.

 

[rambo]

BMI is not an accurate indicator of obesity. The BMI of an NFL running back can be the same as a couch potato. Bodyfat % is a much better indicator.

That being said, I don't see why people whose main responsibility is healthcare should be out of shape to the point where they are unhealthy.

 

[AlternateSome1]

Two things...

First, the poll is pretty much useless because:
1) It doesn't reveal what percentage of applicants were skinny/obese/average.
2) It doesn't define skinny/obese/average.

For all we know, 10% of the poll takers could have a low self confidence and decide that being 5'10 and 120 lbs is fat. It could also be possible that only 2% of the applicants were obese and the adcoms determined that they should diversify their class with individuals of all body types.

Second, I think similar arguments can be made toward health care professionals smoking. Doesn't it seem wrong to see a couple of doctors standing in the doorway of a hospital lighting up?

~AS1~

 

[Neon Black]

I don't know how things work in the Medical world, but in the business world there is a bias toward leaner and better looking people. Take 2 applications with the exact same stats, except one looks like an Abercrombie model and the other is overweight and not as good looking. The first will get the job at an incredilbe high percentage of the time. I can't remember off the top of my head what class I studied this in.

They even had a few reports on 20/20 or Hardcopy or 60 minutes or whatever on how health gyms got busted for charging overweight people more than athletic looking people.

 

[English Chick]

I'm not sure good looks are an advantage in medicine.

First, let me preface this story by saying that I am a fit but average looking 24 year-old woman. Last month, right before an interview, I asked my PI if he had any tips or pearls of wisdom. And his only suggestion (about which he was very emphatic - he spent about 10 minutes talking to me and pretty much just repeated himself over and over) was that I should definitely NOT look too attractive. In fact, he kinda worried me. I went out that night and bought less-sexy shoes than the ones I was planning to wear; I wore an oxford shirt under my suit instead of a (conservative) shell and pulled my hair back instead of leaving it down. At any rate, he was definitely of the opinion that being too good looking at an interview would work against you.

Thoughts?

 

[Celestron2000]

hmm... that seems strange to me. I work at a medical school and have noticed that the student body on average is significantly better looking (not just talkning about weight) than the population at large ( at about the same age.) There are some possible explanations besides a bias for attractive people on the part of the adcom, but I'll bet looks have a fair amount to do with it. Just think about how seemingly random the selection process is, how many applicants are highly qualified...

 

[No Egrets]

Where's the option "I'm a hottie, but I have 10 rejections"?

 

[No Egrets]

Also, what if your BMI is negative? I guess that would automatically disqualify you from most allopathic schools, but maybe you could still do a DO or the caribbean...

 

[hmno82]

If you have a negative BMI you could donate yourself to UCLA. They need people like that now.

 

[exgatr]

.