Overweight Patients Meet with Negative Attitude from Doctors

As more and more US citizens enter the obese class, they encounter increasing disapproval from their doctors.  This has been shown by a study done by Johns Hopkins researchers, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Data from visits between 40 physicians and 238 of their patients were analyzed.   The purpose was to see if the physician’s respect for his/her patient was related to the subject’s body mass index (BMI).

The analyses showed that higher BMI values were associated with lower respect.  This relationship was unaffected by adjustment for the patient’s age and gender.  (Maybe they should have looked for possible effects of the physician’s age and gender?)

The findings, although not particularly surprising, are disappointing.  One might have hoped that the stigma of obesity would be lessened in those who can see how much harm it can do.  The obese earn less money, experience insults, and face discrimination from other people and institutions.  The stigma leads to low self-esteem, depression, and eating disorders, which may worsen the condition.  And when it emanates from their physician, it may drive the patient to avoid doctor visits and seek other, less effective, treatment options.  We can only hope that medical schools will teach the causes and effects of poor respect for patients as part of their student curriculum.