I have no idea what to say to my doctor when he insists that I get on the scale. I don’t want to be weighed. I don’t like knowing what I weigh. Yet for some reason he insists that it’s necessary to my health that he know how much I weigh. I know that’s not true, but he’s a doctor and I just don’t know what to say.
I’m sorry to hear about your doctor. Oftentimes the “doctor-patient relationship” gets lost in mere 15 minutes health professionals have with each patient in modern day medicine. Having said that, your doctor should have made an attempt to understand and address your concerns appropriately. Decisions concerning your health should be consistent with your values and goals. Have an explicit discussion with your physician about your goals and values. Ask your physician if there are other alternatives to measure “health” without having to stand on the scale. Like a complete metabolic panel or lipid panel.
You doctor may insist that weight is important in explaining any symptoms you may have. If your doctor says that your weight is the reason you are short of breath, ask him/her to do test to measure pulmonary function (usually called the one in clinics measure forced expiratory volume/rate). My point is, discuss alternatives with your doctor. If there are no alternatives to measure health or inspect underlying cause of symptoms, then your doctor will tell you it’s necessary when it’s necessary. Remember, your doctor should make every attempt to understand your views and address your concerns in order to promote a healthy doctor-patient relationship. Any physician who fails to understand the importance of fostering such relationships in clinical settings should go back to medical school. Hope that helps.
That’s true, Sassydoc - I really appreciate you saying so. It’s a lot easier said than done, I think, but I do need to talk with my doctor about my values. My problem is that my values and his, I don’t think align. I want him to know that I understand health at every size and that I can be healthy without losing weight - he just doesn’t think so I don’t think.
I fervently believe that doctors always have the patient’s best interest at heart even though it might not seem ostensible at first sight. Evidence-based medicine is now common practice in medicine today. Provide your physician with articles writtened by esteemed academic scholars. Your physician may be willing to talk to your nutritionist, fitness trainer, or anyone who understands Health At Every Size. Fill your doctor in about the details of Health at Every Size and have him/her be a part of your support team. Just communicating with your doctor should make a huge difference, I hope. Let me know how it goes!
Edit: I’ve learned that not all doctors are created equal. There are always going to be doctors out there who are incapable of delivering compassionate medicine for all sizes. Maybe we can start generating a list of size-friendly doctors out there. Who knows. Just a thought.
Very interesting discussion. My Mom is a doctor so I grew up in home that put a lot of emphasis on a “healthy” weight becuase of the cliamed associations between fat and medical conditions. I remember my Mom always mentioning the statistics - and of course I was not going to question her knowledge. When I first heard about the Health at Every Size movement, I was admittendly skeptical. I truly believed that weight depends on how many calories you eat and how much of those consumed calories you use up. After reading Linda Bacon’s awesome book, however, I started being more open to the idea that there is more to the weight story than just calories.
I tried to talk to my Mom telling her that people can be fat and healthy at the same time if they eat well and exercise. Having been in the medical world for over 30 years it is hard for her to accept such “new” ideas. Knowing how hard it was for me (as her child!) to get Mom to even consider that being fat can be great, I can certinly understand the frustration that many people have trying to convey to their doctors that their medical conditions are not necessarily related to being fat.
I am still trying to think of ways to talk to her about this - now that I think about it, I will make her check out this website! What piece of evidence do I bring to her that will convince her of the validity of the HAES movement? How do I change her thinking so radically after so many years? I will let you all know if I find something that works really well, until then, I would welcome any suggestions about ways to talk to doctors (whether you are related to them or not) about weight issues.
I do not object to my doctor knowing my weight. My understanding is that this is one factor that may be needed to prescribe a proper dose of many medicines (some of which I take). It seems logical to me that, to be effective, a 250 pound person might require a higher dose of certain medicines than a 105 pound person.
Hmm, that’s a really good point phat1 (and a great name and cute bunny), and a great reason for a doctor to need to know my weight. I often find, though, that he used to make me get on the scale in order to berate me about my need to lose weight. Since he would need to know my weight to prescribe medicine, I suppose I could let him know that, if by the end he’s prescribing something, I will be happy to have a nurse weigh me in - so long as that doesn’t turn into an excuse to give me a hard time about my weight. Thanks!
If you are being berated, that’s different; you need to find a caring doctor with a decent “bedside manner” - or you have a persecution complex :) .
The current consensus is that size impacts health in many ways (weighs?), so I don’t mind if my doctor touches on my weight - briefly - as part of my annual physical. But I suppose he would need to run some tests to show me that I actually have a particular condition and need to act on it; this would be true whether it was due to my weight or some other cause.
I do believe that weight can reach a point to impact one’s health and living, but maybe it’s not as bad as the consensus believes. In my case, I think that my weight impacts my level of back pain (not just in general; I have a specific back condition).
And thank you! You are right - he is a very cute and sweet bunny.
Every time i visit my docs, I say “no thanks” when the nurse takes me to the scale. I do my best to be very casual about the whole thing…i don’t make a big deal about it. Fortunately neither have they. I’m purchasing their services, and this is one I choose not to buy. OTOH if the doc had a specific reason for needing my exact weight, i’m willing to go with that. Frankly it’s just unnecessary most of the time. It’s one more stat they like to collect, but we both know i’m fat, and i’d know if i’ve gained or lost anything that might possibly be medically significant.
Another option is to tell the healthcare practitioner that if it is medically necessary that your weight be taken, that you don’t want to know what your weight is. Turn your back on the scale, and ask the healthcare practitioner to write the number down without telling you.
I, personally, don’t mind having my weight taken because unexplained weight gain and loss can be the sign of a number of medical conditions.
I started being more open to the idea that there is more to the weight story than just calories.
I tried to talk to my Mom telling her that people can be fat and healthy at the same time if they eat well and exercise. Having been in the medical world for over 30 years it is hard for her to accept such “new” ideas.
There’s usually no medical nessecity to the weigh in, aside from the need to gauge an unexpected rapid gain/loss or for dosage on SOME drugs. I know my body and can tell if I’ve gained or lost… and so far I’ve had no need for dosage reasons. I’ve been refusing for nearly 15 years now.
As for treatment, the best thing you can do is research your condition on your own (if you have one) and ask the doctor “How would you treat a thin person with this issue?” After he/she answers, say “I want that treatment.”
If the doctor offers a different treatment for an average sized person - I may ask, and why don’t you think that treatment is appropriate for me. Sometimes there is a size-related reason. If there isn’t, then I would want an explanation from the doctor for the difference of recommendations (and perhaps start looking for another doctor)
Whether or not there is a medical reason to weigh in, it is still the decision of the patient; and they are assuming the risk of their choice.
As for the rest of it - obviously, you don’t know anything about the many many many causes of being fat, as well as the science that backs it up. Shame on you.
And I’m disappointed by More to Love for allowing this to be posted.
OK - maybe the thing I’m posting about got screened out after all - but not before I got an e-mail directing me to a really nasty posting.
