People love to claim that doctors don’t take fat patients seriously and complain when they tell them to loose weight.
In the Fediverse there are also some Nutjobs who will claim that being morbidly obese isn’t unhealthy and that those doctors just don’t have a clue if they think it is unhealthy
Being obese has so many related sicknesses. From having sleeping problems to back pain to knee pain to more serious stuff like cardiac arrests - being fat brings so many health problems.
When you look at how strongly obesity correlates with everything from back- and knee pains to weakened immune response to sleep issues and cardiovascular disease…
When a severely obese person has any of the above, it’s reasonable, scientifically backed diagnosis/prescription to say “these issues will probably go away by themselves if you lose weight”. This is about treating the cause and not the symptoms: When severely obese people are heavily over-represented among those with a certain disease or problem, you can try treating the symptoms, but should expect that they return rather quickly.
Of course, there are cases where the issues come from something else, but no matter who goes to the doctor with health issues, their first response will be to try to treat the post probable cause.
There is a fat acceptance movement that says you can’t control your wight, and also the only healthy way to eat is to eat whatever you want whenever you want, and if doctors want to weigh their patients or inform them of the health risks of being overweight or not do operations where excess fat would create complications, the only possible explanation for any of that is fatphobia.
Denying care until an arbitrary amount of weight is lost.
Maybe there’s sound science behind it, such as the procedures not having been tested on larger patients (if that’s the case why don’t they just say), but mostly it just looks like a waiting list hack.
The benefit is X the risk is Y, but the risk increases with excess weight, at some point Y exceeds X. Once the risk exceeds the benefit, it no-longer makes sense to perform the procedure.
From the patient point of view, the likelihood of a bad outcome is above the likelihood of a good outcome. They would be worse off getting the procedure; but likely they are only considering the good outcome and wishing away any bad outcome.
From the doctors point of view, they are considering both outcomes and trying to communicate to the patient that it’s not a good option for them. There is also the opportunity cost to consider, they could be helping someone else that is more likely to have a good outcome.
This. And I suspect what they’re taking about isn’t common except in very specific cases, like transplants.
If there’s a compatible kidney doner available, and it’s a choice between an obese and a non-obese adult, they’re going to give it to the person more likely to survive and make longer use of the donation, and all other things being equal that’s the non-obese person. OP will categorize this as “denying care,” but it’s really a question of saving the person who isn’t likely to die anyway from comorbidities.
What harm is the doctor doing to fat people in your opinion?
People love to claim that doctors don’t take fat patients seriously and complain when they tell them to loose weight.
In the Fediverse there are also some Nutjobs who will claim that being morbidly obese isn’t unhealthy and that those doctors just don’t have a clue if they think it is unhealthy
#loose
Fat people can lose weight. Loose people… are more fun I presume.
Look, the doctor just said I needed exercise, but didn’t say it had to be boring.
Isn’t it well-known that doctors frequently dismiss health concerns with “have you tried losing weight?”
Because in many cases, the weight is the problem.
Being obese has so many related sicknesses. From having sleeping problems to back pain to knee pain to more serious stuff like cardiac arrests - being fat brings so many health problems.
When you look at how strongly obesity correlates with everything from back- and knee pains to weakened immune response to sleep issues and cardiovascular disease…
When a severely obese person has any of the above, it’s reasonable, scientifically backed diagnosis/prescription to say “these issues will probably go away by themselves if you lose weight”. This is about treating the cause and not the symptoms: When severely obese people are heavily over-represented among those with a certain disease or problem, you can try treating the symptoms, but should expect that they return rather quickly.
Of course, there are cases where the issues come from something else, but no matter who goes to the doctor with health issues, their first response will be to try to treat the post probable cause.
This isn’t always true though, so obese people end up not receiving the care they should, because their dr couldn’t or wouldn’t see past their weight.
Weight gain can turn a small thing into a bigger thing. A outpatient procedure is more likely to turn inpatient if the patient is over 300lbs.
While I have no doubt there are doctors like that, they are the exception.
Every profession has it’s idiots…
First I’m ever hearing about it.
There is a fat acceptance movement that says you can’t control your wight, and also the only healthy way to eat is to eat whatever you want whenever you want, and if doctors want to weigh their patients or inform them of the health risks of being overweight or not do operations where excess fat would create complications, the only possible explanation for any of that is fatphobia.
That’s not what that is.
Its more just not going out of your way to be an asshole to fat people.
Denying care until an arbitrary amount of weight is lost.
Maybe there’s sound science behind it, such as the procedures not having been tested on larger patients (if that’s the case why don’t they just say), but mostly it just looks like a waiting list hack.
Risk/benefit ratio.
The benefit is X the risk is Y, but the risk increases with excess weight, at some point Y exceeds X. Once the risk exceeds the benefit, it no-longer makes sense to perform the procedure.
From the patient point of view, the likelihood of a bad outcome is above the likelihood of a good outcome. They would be worse off getting the procedure; but likely they are only considering the good outcome and wishing away any bad outcome.
From the doctors point of view, they are considering both outcomes and trying to communicate to the patient that it’s not a good option for them. There is also the opportunity cost to consider, they could be helping someone else that is more likely to have a good outcome.
This. And I suspect what they’re taking about isn’t common except in very specific cases, like transplants.
If there’s a compatible kidney doner available, and it’s a choice between an obese and a non-obese adult, they’re going to give it to the person more likely to survive and make longer use of the donation, and all other things being equal that’s the non-obese person. OP will categorize this as “denying care,” but it’s really a question of saving the person who isn’t likely to die anyway from comorbidities.