Overweight Physicians?

[msamp]

Just a though that was running through my mind this morning:

1. Would you take weight loss/ health advice from an overweight or obese physician?

2. Do you think adcoms are prejudice when it comes to overweight applicants?

I'm far from overweight but just a couple of thoughts that ran through my mind today. I really don't care as long as the physician is saving lives.

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[xBODOMx]

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[SeetaRaj]

I've actually thought about the same thing...

I would be kind of skeptical when it comes to taking any sort of health advice from an obese/overweight physician. I mean, I guess some things are genetic, but anything extreme would be avoidable by eating healthy and staying somewhat fit. I've also thought about those physicians who smoke...They know it's bad for their health, and probably don't promote it to their patients, but they still do it.

 

[Nandrolone]

yes, i wouldn't even listen to them.

it's like going to a blind man for advice on artwork or photography. lulz

 

[AestheticGod]

1. Maybe. Mainly because Doctors are like coaches. They don't have to be fit and healthy, but they know how to get there.

2. Hell yes. Everyone judges others and sooner you realize this, the better off you'll be in the future. Good looks and charm can take you places.

 

[DrDestroyMD]

Question #2 is one of the reasons I decided to lose weight during my gap time. That and being healthy and not dying at 50...

 

[Barcu]

1. Yes. But probably only because I'm in med school so I believe doctors should always be believed even if they don't practice what they preach. Most people probably wouldn't because many don't even listen to athletic doctors about losing weight.

2. There aren't a ton of overweight people in med school. Coincidence? Maybe.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Even if it's not intentional, there's a stigma with obesity that people keep in the back of their minds. It may or may not affect their decision significantly, but I think it's a good thing to keep in mind. Not to mention that not being obese for health reasons is also a huge plus!

 

[Haislip]

1. Yes
2. It does. It is better to look fit than overweight. If you are a bit overweight, make sure your clothes fit your figure well to even the playing field

 

[TheMightySmiter]

A lot of overweight people know more than anyone about the best strategies to lose weight, because naturally thin people don't usually have to worry about it. It's much different to know how and to actually put those strategies into successful weight loss.

 

[purplelightning]

1. No. I'd be more trusting of a doctor who is fit.
2. Of course

 

[aggronor]

2. There aren't a ton of overweight people in med school. Coincidence? Maybe.

Well in general, people from higher social classes and better educational backgrounds are less likely to be overweight. Those are generally the same people who end up in medical school (obviously not all med students/students, but there is a great deal overlap).

I can say that at my undergraduate institution (an expensive "elite" college), very few people were overweight, and even fewer were truly obese.

 

[aggronor]

A lot of overweight people know more than anyone about the best strategies to lose weight, because naturally thin people don't usually have to worry about it. It's much different to know how and to actually put those strategies into successful weight loss.

That doesn't make any sense at all

"People who get bad grades know more than anyone about the best study strategies because naturally smart people don't have to worry about it"

 

[SpecterGT260]

1. Yes I would, although a physician isn't the one you would see for this.

2. Absolutely. This applies to any interviews, jobs, public, etc.. Even walking down the street you can tell a significant difference on now you're treated. ( I was overweight / obese previously).

are you saying that you don't think that doctors discuss weight loss with patients?

 

[mtremblay]

Also, the people that make it in med school are usually the ones that have great self control and that follow through when they decide to do something. So when they decide to lose weight, they usually do.

 

[pasiley]

I think there are many misconceptions about being overweight.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

It doesn't take much to be overweight. A lot of people (men in particular) don't even realize they are a few pounds overweight.

1) I was watching a news story about a well known and respected bariatric surgeon and chuckled that the surgeon himself was overweight. So yes.

2)Yes. I would bet many adcoms are a little overweight but that doesn't mean they won't discriminate against others who are overweight.

 

[Nandrolone]

A lot of overweight people know more than anyone about the best strategies to lose weight, because naturally thin people don't usually have to worry about it. It's much different to know how and to actually put those strategies into successful weight loss.

that's the logic of a mentally ******ed 4 year old.

 

[pasiley]

A lot of overweight people know more than anyone about the best strategies to lose weight, because naturally thin people don't usually have to worry about it. It's much different to know how and to actually put those strategies into successful weight loss.

I agree with you. Overweight people know a lot about healthy ways to loose weight that nutritionists, diet books, etc tell them.

The truth is, the best ways to lose weight are not healthy.

Many thin people do not have healthy habits. They skip breakfast or sometimes only have a brownie for lunch. Worse yet, they eat well below the recommended 1200 calorie minimum. Diet books etc tell you how to lose weight in the most healthy way - Not the most effective way.

 

[jjeangi]

1. Of course.

2. I'm sure they do. Overweight people are disgusting to me and many others.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

that's the logic of a mentally ******ed 4 year old.

Who ARE you?

The assumption that everyone here is making is that overweight people are fat because they don't know any better. This is absolutely untrue for a large number of overweight people. Many overweight people have dieted and lost the weight, only to gain it back. Or they know how to lose weight, but don't want to or can't find the motivation. It isn't always a matter of knowledge. And, apparently, a lot of people here don't know this, so they'd be useless trying to help their patients lose weight. 🙂

 

[TheMightySmiter]

That doesn't make any sense at all

"People who get bad grades know more than anyone about the best study strategies because naturally smart people don't have to worry about it"

There are plenty of people who know how to get good grades, but aren't motivated or don't care or want to focus on other things. There are also plenty of naturally smart people who coast through and would give terrible advice for how to study.

 

[HughMyron]

Eh, it's just like personal training. There's a lot of really aesthetic trainers around, but many of them just got by on good genetics or steroids, so there's not much advice they can give. I have a ******edly buff friend who I always ask for advice, but I never got anything substantive from him just because he had no idea specifically how he got his body, just a few years at the gym combined with his genetics.

 

[Neurophage]

1. Would you take weight loss/ health advice from an overweight or obese physician?

A few pounds overweight, sure. I know a doctor who is slightly overweight and runs a weight loss clinic. He lost a lot of weight himself and openly displays his "before" and "after" pictures in his clinic. I think, if anything, he is more convincing than a doctor who is and has always been thin. (Sidenote: Studies have shown that people who gain a lot of weight and then lose it need to take more measures than those who never gained weight in order to keep it off.)

Obese, probably not. Rare genetic conditions aside, obesity is normally a lifestyle issue. If an obese doctor gave me weight loss advice I would question whether his weight loss regimen has retention issues or is otherwise impractical for a normal, busy life.

2. Do you think adcoms are prejudice when it comes to overweight applicants?

Replace "adcoms" with "everyone" and "applicants" with "people" and the answer is and will always be yes.

 

[Nandrolone]

Who ARE you?

The assumption that everyone here is making is that overweight people are fat because they don't know any better. This is absolutely untrue for a large number of overweight people. Many overweight people have dieted and lost the weight, only to gain it back. Or they know how to lose weight, but don't want to or can't find the motivation. It isn't always a matter of knowledge. And, apparently, a lot of people here don't know this, so they'd be useless trying to help their patients lose weight. 🙂

sorry if i came off as rude...but, i dislike fat people in general because they don't have willpower and aren't willing to educate themselves on nutrition...always making up excuses (now, this isn't true in all cases, but a MAJORITY)

 

[Poetic Silence]

sorry if i came off as rude...but, i dislike fat people in general because they don't have willpower and aren't willing to educate themselves on nutrition...always making up excuses (now, this isn't true in all cases, but a MAJORITY)

You are so blindly prejudice and oblivious to your hatefulness that I'm not even gonna try reasoning with you.

Make sure to smack your future patients with obesity issues when they fail to recognize your Godly statutes.

 

[Neurophage]

sorry if i came off as rude...but, i dislike fat people in general because they don't have willpower and aren't willing to educate themselves on nutrition...always making up excuses (now, this isn't true in all cases, but a MAJORITY)

As a med student and later a physician it is all but certain that you will interact with the obese, addicts, and other people with problems that may be associated with willpower. In many cases it will be difficult to identify with this type of patient. I recall one patient with a crack addiction and history of physically abusing her children. It was very difficult to identify with her. In spite of that, nothing good could have come from passing judgement. Instead, I focused on the ways that I could help her to improve her situation and overcome her problematic behaviors. It was not easy, but I think that type of attitude is required of us as future physicians.

It would be to your advantage to start cultivating empathy now - you will be a better physician for it.

 

[Yoseph101]

sorry if i came off as rude...but, i dislike fat people in general because they don't have willpower and aren't willing to educate themselves on nutrition...always making up excuses (now, this isn't true in all cases, but a MAJORITY)

This is definitely not true, not even a majority of cases. Many people who try to loose weight end up putting it back on again in >95% of cases. Does that mean that >95% of all people who would like to loose weight don't have willpower and aren't willing to educate themselves? I don't think so.

I highly recommend Gary Taube who presents quite a compelling argument on why we get (and stay) fat:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obUBaclfsys[/YOUTUBE]

2. I'm sure they do. Overweight people are disgusting to me and many others.

Overweight people are still human beings, to judge is natural, but hate is uncalled for . . .

 

[Yonko Shanks]

1. Of course.

2. I'm sure they do. Overweight people are disgusting to me and many others.

wow! you sir are going to be the best physician in the world!

As a med student and later a physician it is all but certain that you will interact with the obese, addicts, and other people with problems that may be associated with willpower. In many cases it will be difficult to identify with this type of patient. I recall one patient with a crack addiction and history of physically abusing her children. It was very difficult to identify with her. In spite of that, nothing good could have come from passing judgement. Instead, I focused on the ways that I could help her to improve her situation and overcome her problematic behaviors. It was not easy, but I think that type of attitude is required of us as future physicians.

I agree with you 100%. Not everyone in this country can be a perfect. As physicians, it is their job to try and empathize with them.

It would be to your advantage to start cultivating empathy now - you will be a better physician for it.

 

[mvenus929]

sorry if i came off as rude...but, i dislike fat people in general because they don't have willpower and aren't willing to educate themselves on nutrition...always making up excuses (now, this isn't true in all cases, but a MAJORITY)

I disagree. Many, if not most, overweight people know what they need to do to lose weight. Many probably even have the willpower to make it happen. But it's not a priority for them. Just like in med school, you won't be able to do everything you want to do; you have to choose your priorities and adjust your time accordingly. Most working individuals feel this pressure. And I'm sure that spending time with their kids or getting ahead in their jobs is more important to them than taking the time to cook their own meals, or shopping at the grocery store for healthy foods, etc.

 

[Juxxtaposition]

I hope you guys know that a lot of cardiologists that I have met are very big smokers. Hypocrisy in medicine in such a context is not uncommon...

 

[KnuxNole]

Not all doctors talk about losing weight and such. The surgeon who comes in to operate and leaves the patient probably isn't that interested in weight loss, or the ER doc who says "that's a PCP issue, go on now!"

But most doctors do tackle that issue, especially since it's growing...to the point where soon 50% of the US might be obese.

 

[KnuxNole]

Don't forget that many nurses, techs, residents, social workers, etc. will be overweight or even obese too...so to the overweight haters who aren't trolling, you have to play nice with overweight people on the patient side, or your bosses or co-workers

And I agree that just because you are in med school, does NOT they consider it a priority. From seeing classmates throughout the 3 years, more often than not, people's weight have increased. Of course, I sadly stay the same size if I eat like a horse, or eat bits and pieces during a surgery day D:

 

[Morzh]

Oh please. Patients pay their physicians to share their expertise and skills, not to be life coaches. Whether doctors follow their own advice or not is irrelevant. If they happen to be a good role model, fantastic, but even overweight doctors can be excellent clinicians. Sometimes it's ok to say "Do as I say, not as I do."

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for physicians portraying healthy images... but to sit there on your high throne and wantonly pass judgment on overweight doctors is just ridiculous. Plus everyone pictures something a little different when they imagine a prototypical "overweight" person, so this whole argument is flawed because nobody's really on the same page. There's a huge difference between a Biggest Loser-caliber behemoth and a stressed and super busy--but very bright, caring, and hardworking--resident who's 30-40 pounds overweight.

And it's not like fat docs are the only ones who do this. Smokers have also been brought up. And alcoholism in medicine is even worse. What about OB/peds doctors who don't follow to a T every piece of textbook advice they dole out to new parents, a lot of which is just absurdly impractical?

Finally, enough with the misuse of the word "hypocrisy". I'll defer to the words of Samuel Johnson (and Wikipedia, where I found this great quote 🙂 ):

Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie.

Hypocrisy is not simply failing to practice those virtues that one preaches. Samuel Johnson made this point when he wrote about the misuse of the charge of "hypocrisy" in Rambler No. 14:
"Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory, as a man may be confident of the advantages of a voyage, or a journey, without having courage or industry to undertake it, and may honestly recommend to others, those attempts which he neglects himself."

Thus, an alcoholic's advocating temperance, for example, would not be considered an act of hypocrisy as long as the alcoholic made no pretense of constant sobriety.

 

[Poetic Silence]

That was a really enlightening quote and I agree with it 100%. We're all human and no one's perfect.

 

[Geebeejay]

Eat less, run more. If I had a dime every time I saw an obese person with a 5-course lunch, or walking around with a big mac, or taking the elevator down 1 flight. If it was all genetics, then the US wouldn't be one of the most obese countries in the world. It comes down to laziness, entitlement and gluttony. People can call themselves "motivated" all they want, but unless you're ready to lower your portions, eat drier, less tasty food with less salt, and stop saying "I can't resist" to **** like soda and dessert, they will not lose weight. And hitting the elliptical while reading a magazine once or twice a week isn't gonna do anything. You need to PUSH yourself. It's gonna HURT. A Lot. Sprints, jumping jacks, push ups and resistance training...a lot of it.

As far as empathy....if you really think you are going to be empathetic to the frequent flyer IVDU, or noncompliant diabetic, or racist, A-hole SI/HI abusing the system for disability and threatening staff, then keep being naive. I will not be empathetic toward them, nor will I to someone who clearly doesn't take care of themselves, but that doesn't mean I won't treat them like I would any other patient. You don't have to be globally empathetic to treat a patient. Life is all about doing things you don't necessarily want to do.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Eat less, run more. If I had a dime every time I saw an obese person with a 5-course lunch, or walking around with a big mac, or taking the elevator down 1 flight. If it was all genetics, then the US wouldn't be one of the most obese countries in the world. It comes down to laziness, entitlement and gluttony. People can call themselves "motivated" all they want, but unless you're ready to lower your portions, eat drier, less tasty food with less salt, and stop saying "I can't resist" to **** like soda and dessert, they will not lose weight. And hitting the elliptical while reading a magazine once or twice a week isn't gonna do anything. You need to PUSH yourself. It's gonna HURT. A Lot. Sprints, jumping jacks, push ups and resistance training...a lot of it.

As far as empathy....if you really think you are going to be empathetic to the frequent flyer IVDU, or noncompliant diabetic, or racist, A-hole SI/HI abusing the system for disability and threatening staff, then keep being naive. I will not be empathetic toward them, nor will I to someone who clearly doesn't take care of themselves, but that doesn't mean I won't treat them like I would any other patient. You don't have to be globally empathetic to treat a patient. Life is all about doing things you don't necessarily want to do.

But but running sucks!

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[xBODOMx]

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[SpecterGT260]

Obviously weight loss. But dietary advice, cardio, weight lifting etc? No. Of course doctors know that being obese is terrible for your health and cardiologists know losing weight is great for hypertension ans general cardiac health. But for actual routines etc a Google search or dietary specialist or personal trainer would be better options.

I agree, just wanted to be clear. as an aside: Sure, your cardiologist will know this. So will your family doc, your ER doc, your general surgeon, your anesthesiologist, your pediatrician, your orthopod, your gastrointerologist, your immunologist, and your pathologist. They will also each know that your BP isnt necessarily tied to your diet or BMI. I always find it quaint when pre-meds employ these cookie-cutter medical examples to support a claim.

 

[Geebeejay]

But but running sucks!

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I Loled

 

[xBODOMx]

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[SpecterGT260]

Lol okay buddy.

If you're expecting to come out of medical school with PhD like knowledge of nutrition you will be sorely dissapointed.

Its interesting that this is how you interpreted my response that said "I agree". I never even implied that I would have extensive nutritional knowledge


The rest of the post was related to the part I put in bold 🙄
Basically, your comment about the cardiologist and BP demonstrates a very superficial understanding of medicine. Hence the descriptor "quaint" 😉. Reading is a good thing, chief
But maybe you should actually attend a medical school class before telling me what I can expect to get out of the education 😉 your average gym trainer isn't a PhD either

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[dally1025]

I disagree. Many, if not most, overweight people know what they need to do to lose weight. Many probably even have the willpower to make it happen. But it's not a priority for them. Just like in med school, you won't be able to do everything you want to do; you have to choose your priorities and adjust your time accordingly. Most working individuals feel this pressure. And I'm sure that spending time with their kids or getting ahead in their jobs is more important to them than taking the time to cook their own meals, or shopping at the grocery store for healthy foods, etc.

I suppose it depends on where you are but this is not at all true in my area. Most docs don't even know how to educate patients to lose weight. My patients ask about such and such diet/cleanse/injection looking for short term fixes instead of realizing that what we're trying to get them do is a lifestyle not a diet. It is a lot more difficult now days as every food product available says "high in such-and-such nutrient" or "all-natural" so people assume that it's healthy. So I have patients eating cheeze-it's because it's healthy because it has calcium. When I ask what they think they need to do to lose weight they answer "exercise." Yes, that's part of a healthy lifestyle but decreasing caloric intake is the key to losing weight. Excercise is helpful to maintain weight but doesn't do much to help you lose it. There are a lot of small things people can do to lose weight but doctor's are educated enough about it and it takes a lot of time. For example, a patient asked me how I prevented my eggs from sticking to the pan and was suprised that pam would do the job and adding butter to the pam was just adding empty calories. Most of my patients aren't the most educated people so that's part of the problem but if we had a lot more time to spend talking about healthy lifestyles (with the knowledge to back it up-which is seriously lacking in med school) I think we could make a dent in the obesity rates.

 

[birdy1]

Just a though that was running through my mind this morning:

1. Would you take weight loss/ health advice from an overweight or obese physician?

2. Do you think adcoms are prejudice when it comes to overweight applicants?

I'm far from overweight but just a couple of thoughts that ran through my mind today. I really don't care as long as the physician is saving lives.

My pediatrician was very overweight, and even though I was a scrawny girl and he was always telling me to gain a few pounds, I found that I never really trusted him on issues of weight. I took the health advice, but not so much the weight advice. It just seemed odd coming from a heavy guy.

 

[DCGuava]

that's the logic of a mentally ******ed 4 year old.

sorry if i came off as rude...but, i dislike fat people in general because they don't have willpower and aren't willing to educate themselves on nutrition...always making up excuses (now, this isn't true in all cases, but a MAJORITY)

Hahah, sorry, but to take weight loss and diet/workout advice from someone who named themselves after one of the most widely abused anabolic steroids known to mankind?

Oh, the irony...it's beautiful.

 

[deleted103644]

That doesn't make any sense at all

"People who get bad grades know more than anyone about the best study strategies because naturally smart people don't have to worry about it"

It actually does make a bit of sense.

Someone formerly obese >> someone never obese > someone obese when it comes to weight loss advice.

Someone who does well on tests without studying can't really give studying advice, likewise someone who looks fit without diet or exercise might just have better genes.