Heavy Patients Get Little Respect From Doctors
FRIDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Mirroring a societal stigma against the obese, Johns Hopkins researchers report that doctors appear to have less respect for their heavy patients.
"Society, in general, has negative attitudes towards patients with obesity and physicians may be mimicking what is found in society," said lead researcher Dr. Mary Margaret Huizinga, an assistant professor of general internal medicine at Hopkins.
"Obesity bias has been increasing in society, even while race and gender bias has been decreasing," she added.
Huizinga got the idea for the research from her experiences working in a weight-loss clinic. "Many patients felt like because they were overweight, they weren't receiving the type of care other patients received," she said.
The report is published in the November issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
For the study, Huizinga's team asked 40 doctors to complete a questionnaire about their attitudes toward the obese patients they had seen.
The researchers found that, among the 238 patients, each 10-unit increase in body-mass index (BMI) added a 14 percent higher prevalence of low patient respect on the part of their doctor.
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It is so refreshing to read an article on this topic - Ladies, WE ARE NOT CRAZY!!! I have encountered this mindset many times during my life. Seeing a doctor for the first time, I was always nervous, anxious and sick to my stomach, my experience had taught me that my weight would become the focal point, not my illness.
My worst personal experience with Doctor Discrimination, was when it was discovered that many of my immediate family members had Hoshimoto's Autoimmune Disease. My families physician in No. Cal. referred me to a top Endocrinologist at UCLA. I was in my early 30's and probably weighed around 300 lbs. On my first visit to the Endocrinologist, he asked me why I was there to see him. So I shared that my families history, who had referred me and that I was there to get checked out to see if I had it too. He smugly sat behind his desk and quite emphatically stated "Well, I don't know if you have Hoshimoto's, but you are FAT." I could not believe my ears, it infuriated me! I could not believe my ears, it infuriated me! Many people automatically judge you because of your weight, fortunately I was okay with my size. I have been large all my life, it was normal to me. But, I never saw that comment coming from a physician! I immediately looked directly into his pompous eyes and responded "I may be FAT, but that is NOT why I am here to see YOU!" And kept looking directly into his eyes, until he squirmed and moved in his chair. I knew I slung the mud back in his face, but he had no right to judge me. He is a physician, my advocate... or so I thought when I walked in the door.
Apparently, one of the symptoms of Hoshimoto's is weight gain. But my weight was never an issue to me, I was truly worried about Hoshimoto's and if I had it, what was it doing to my body. I was looking for assistance and got the FAT word thrown in my face by my own physician! Because I had been referred to him, I chose to stay and be tested. He tested my blood 3 or 4 times each time asked me "How much thyroid are you taking?" I had informed him from the start, that I had never taken thyroid medication and so, the fact that my numbers were so over the top high, must be an indicator of my own thyroid's function. He just kept saying "Well I don't know if you have Hoshimoto's, but your thyroid numbers are high."
After a couple of months of being patient, having no answers and receiving no diagnosis or treatment suggestions, I knew this physician could not help me. Whether I had Hoshimoto's or not, I clearly needed help! So, I ended up flying to San Francisco to my families Endocrinologist and was diagnosed and treated for Hoshimoto's Autoimmune Disease.
The point is, discrimination can and does happen with physicians, they are humans too. But we do not have to put up with their degrading behavior and total lack of respect for us, their patients! In everyday life I would never put up with anyone who treated me badly or was mean to me because I was fat. I certainly am not going to work with a physician, who is supposed to be all about helping me but all they see is a fat person. Based upon my personal experience, when this happens, everything becomes about the fat and not about receiving good healthcare. Do not be frustrated, embarrassed or let them belittle you. In truth, that is not your side of the street and you have no control over what others think or do.
Ladies, we all must find a doctor who treats us, just the way we are at any given age, weight or illness. It is because of my long term and trusting relationship with my Internist, Jessica J. Cho, M.D., that I eventually chose to have gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Cho always gave me medical support, explanations, options and kindness, with a smile! After my bariatic in 2000, I constantly ran a low grade fever with flu like symptoms for eight years. After my original surgeon and gastroenterologist gave up on me, I finally found bariatic surgeon, Shyam L. Dahiya, M.D. he listened to me, never looked at me like I was crazy, performed tests and in fact, discovered that I had surgical defects that needed repair. It has been six months since Dr. Dahiya performed my gastric bypass revision procedure and I just keep feeling better and better.
Your Physicians are out there! Do not be discouraged, your journey may be to find that one doctor who has your best interests in their heart. So take a deep breath, seek information, certainly keep using EmpowHer.com, get references from friends or family... and do not give up! We all deserve the best healthcare. Do not settle for anything but the best and please, always remember, we are enough - just the way we are!
Hi Cheri,
Thank you for sharing your story. I am truly amazed at some stories I read on here and yours is one of them. With so many choices in physicians and in heath care, you wonder why a physician would treat someone so poorly. I certainly hope you complained about his behavior. Someone like you and I would not longer have jobs for this behavior.
I am also glad to hear that you were treated for your autoimmune disorder. It is refreshing to know that there are good physicians out there and that you chose to leave the person that treated you badly.
Thank you again for sharing your story.