Dr. Bennett redux?

More obesity firestorm. A physician apologizes after telling it like it is:

Trudy admits she is 5 stone (31.7kg) overweight, but did not want to say what she weighs.
“I know I have a weight problem and it doesn’t help my asthma, but it’s swings and roundabouts. I can’t exercise because of my breathing,” she said.
She claimed the doctor had pointed to his mouth and told her: “It’s what goes in here”.
She told him that she had managed to shed a stone earlier in the year with Slimming World.
“I am overweight, but I don’t eat chocolate or cakes. It’s just my metabolism.
“My class leader from Slimming World phoned me and wooed me into going back and I am going to prove the doctor wrong,” said Trudy. “I am going to show him.”
Trudy has since received an unsigned letter of apology to the effect that the doctor was sorry Trudy felt so upset by their discussion about her weight and hoped Slimming World proved the best way to achieving her goal.

Comments

Anonymous
Yet another out of control beast. If only the beasts’ hides were as thick as their waistlines…
And no, its not your metabolism. How many fat people do you see in the historical record from the internment camps? Zero.
Anonymous
I just tell people to go to the nutritionist…end of discussion…why do I care if you people are fat slobs?
Anonymous
Guess what? It worked. She is going to try to lose weight. I call that successful behavioral modification. He could have said nohing and validated her excuses.
Anonymous
What is Slimming World?
Samson Isberg
Her metabolism must be quite unique, being able to create mass without energy – why, the UN should investigate her scientifically, it sounds as if she has solved the world’s energy problems single-handedly
Anonymous
While most people cannot claim a metabolic cause for their excess weight, what about the Cushings patient or the patient who has to take HIGH doses of steroids every day? Steroids simply pile the weight on (although in a very particular pattern).
I still don’t see why you need to use such derogatory terms as “beasts” and “slobs”. It does nothing to bolster your argument.
Thyroids aren’t unicorns
Hello, old crazee poster.
“How many fat people do you see in the historical record from the internment camps? Zero.”
Sure, absolute starvation/malnutrition with make a bag of antlers out of anyone…eventually. Although, the ones with the slower metabolisms hold out a bit longer.
Since most persons with access to an adequate supply of food are unwilling to starve themselves to near-death, some allowance must be made for the complex factors that influence weight.
You cannot be a good physician and dismiss the physical effects of endocrine disorders and other physical factors that affect eating habits and mobility.
The truth is some people have trouble losing weight even with restrictive diets and moderate excercise plans. What they need is a realistic plan and medical oversight to find causes if these efforts fail, or reasons why the patient is having trouble complying with excercise and food restriction.
I can control my weight now, in fact I am a rail, and have been for most of my life. But after I have half or all my thyroid removed I could easily find myself fighting a battle I’ve never fought before. I’m scared of how even with documented endocrine issues I will not be treated with respect and given assistance maintaining a proper weight.
There is a place between berating someone and accepting excuses. The patient doesn’t eat a lot of sweets. Ok, validate that and explore where she is getting all the calories. Maybe she has an unrealistic idea of how much food is too much. It is possible to eat too much HEALTHY nutritious food.
As few as 50 extra calories a day over the long term can pack on the pounds, and if she is eating 2000 when she needs 1400, she needs instruction.
Maybe she does avoid excercise because it makes her feel ill. No, excercise, no muscle. So her metabolism IS slow. Perhaps she is insulin resistant and hungry all the time and needs help finding foods that avoid spiking blood sugar.
There is nothing wrong with sending a patient to a nutritionist. Bravo to that if you don’t know enough to help a patient yourself on that score, or don’t want to be bothered with it.
But lose the nasty attitude. It isn’t necessary to take a patient out of dreamworld and denial and into action. You can speak plainly without being abusive.

Dr. Bennett redux?

More in Uncategorized

Comments

Site

Channels

Subscribe

More in Uncategorized

Comments

Site

Channels