According to Penn State researchers…
What the heck is going on here?
Obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes rates are increasing year after year and it seems that our doctors are too shy to talk to us about it.
Any thoughts?
What do you think???
Reference
TazCaz
January 4, 2015 at 12:45 am
Why on earth do you need professionals? Just eat less and exercise more for crying out loud! Excuses excuses excuses – take responsibility for what you put in your mouth and move.
May
March 27, 2013 at 9:42 pm
There are a number of reasons why and not necessarily because it is a touchy subject. Mostly because (research has found): NO TIME to talk about weight and weight managment, NO KNOWLEDGE of resources available to these clients particilarly of they have other health issues like hypertension/diabetes, RELUCTANCE to recommend a personal trainer because they do not have a reliable and safe trainer to suggest and the MAIN REASON I believe is that patients are not developing a relationship with their GP’s to the point that these issues can be discussed. Physicians are trained to provide prescriptions not health prevention information. If the patient comes in with a “symptom” the natural response is to “treat”. I recommend physicians start advocating for fitness nurses to assist in this process and work together to improve health outcomes. We have a long way to go…
Jarret
October 12, 2012 at 1:50 pm
Hey Doug,
It’s a complex subject for sure. One problem that I’ve seen with some colleagues in family medicine is a reluctance to discuss weight issues with patients–particularly new patients.
Why? I don’t think that it should be… But the fact is that it’s a sensitive topic. For a myriad of reasons, many people find it incredibly insulting to discuss their weight issues. It doesn’t matter if you frame with non-judgmental terms like BMI etc, to many patients it still translates to, “ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT, YOU SOB?â€
I do think it’s important for doctors to discuss issues such as BMI, weight, etc with patients. By not discussing it, patients often seem to assume, “well, my doctor’s never told me I have any issues with my weight, so I must be fine.â€