Obesity and poverty are amongst the biggest issues human beings face today. Obese spend in a lot of money, time and efforts to control their obesity. They are degraded at every stage in their lives. If some one wants to live with obesity, then other people must not make fun of him/her.
Even if the weight is a problem for health and love-making, fat people have the right to live with it. Doctors often advise fat people to reduce their weight. This is so painful. Patients go to the doctor for help, not to hurt themselves by doctor’s comments.
Recently a case was register against a doctor who told his patient to reduce weight. This hurt the patient and she went to file a case. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9063638/). The doctor sent an apology to the patient, but it is not enough to heal the damage she had suffered from his comments so she wanted her doctor to suffer as well. It has been a year and the obese patient has not provided with justice.
There is another view that doctor must inform their patients about things that can be harmful. But that must be conveyed in a reasonable way, so the patient won’t feel embarrassed.
As a human being should we suggest harsh punishments for doctors who make fun of their patients or what? Please share your thoughts.
Re: Doctor must respect their patients (even if they are fat)
Well to be honest obesity is unhealthy...a doctors job is to preserve ones health so naturally he will tell someone to reduce weight...that is help...
If you want someone to tell you everything is OK then go to your mother...a doctors job is not to lie to you and make you feel good about being fat and unhealthy...his job is to make you healthy...so if one gets upset then thats their problem...i feel sorry for that doctor and dont think he has done anything wrong...
You are obese so accept the fact that you are fat and unhealthy...and accept the fact that the only way to solve that problem is to lose the weight...
What next...are we gonna have alcoholics complaining that their doctors asked them to give up alcohol and this offended them because they feel the doctor is suggesting they are an alcaholic?...Ludicrous...
You have a problem...accept it...accept constructive criticism and stop blaming everyone else for your plight...just do something about it...
P.S Before i have people attack me...i wasnt suggesting that obesity and being an alcaholic are on the same level...one is self created...the other one not always...my point is to indicate the fact that they are both problems that need to be rectified...
Re: Doctor must respect their patients (even if they are fat)
Yea! it's ridiculous. If you don't tell a patient how serious his/her ailment is, s/he gonna sue you. If you tell him/her the truth in plain words, s/he is going to be upset and sue you.
Same with poor truckers. If you drive too fast, you're called road hog and a danger. If you drive too slow, your suppliers/traders will make your life living hell.
Re: Doctor must respect their patients (even if they are fat)
unbelievable! if the doctor hadn't told her that she was too fat and then she had died of complications because of her obesity her family would have sued the doctor.
Re: Doctor must respect their patients (even if they are fat)
"unbelievable! if the doctor hadn't told her that she was too fat and then she had died of complications because of her obesity her family would have sued the doctor."
:D loooollll...sooo true...the poor doctor cant win...
he says she is ill he gets sued...he says shes not ill he gets sued...
What to do?...
Now #2 may be something that is unnecessary and is not related to his job as a medical doctor (may be later if he starts a match making business, this will be more apporpriate), buts #3 and #5 are very relevant. If the patient gets offended when her doctor tells her that she is risking her health because of her obesity, then she needs to grow up. Its unfortunate that the doctor had to apologize and is at risk of losing his medical license on account of thinking for the betterment of his patients. And in this land of law suites, this will scare away other doctors from being candid with their patients. Very unfortunate.
Re: Doctor must respect their patients (even if they are fat)
I am not surprised. Nowadays with all the political correctness and "feel good" campaigns about how obese women are "real" women, it's impossible to call someone fat and get away with it. The new F word is the N word of our era.
Re: Doctor must respect their patients (even if they are fat)
Those women in the Dove ad campaign that your referring to are NOT obese, they’re not even fat. They just don’t happen to be very svelte, and it’s common sense that skinny does NOT equal healthy. The whole msg behind thsoe ads is to say that one should feel comfortable with their bodies, as long as they are healthy, NOT to try and look like a broomstick wtih two melons tied to it.
Anyway, about that doc… doctors have a right adn a duty to tell their patients the truth, but they are not allowed to ridicule or disrespect them.. Telling an obese person that they need to lose weight, to save their life and improve the quality of it, is one thing, telling them that they’re fatasses who wont’ get a man unless they drop the weight, is totally different. The latter is disrespectful and demeaning and in no way constructive.
Re: Doctor must respect their patients (even if they are fat)
^ It depends...some women may not look fat, but they have a higher proportion of fat than what they need for their height and frame, etc. I don't know exactly how they do the testing, but the proportion of your weight that can be fat differs from person to person.
I don't look fat, but I know I have more on me than I need, for example.
Re: Doctor must respect their patients (even if they are fat)
Perhaps this woman came across a jerk lawyer who told her they can together make some money out of conscientious hard working professional.
Doctors do try to telll the patient of obesity, in a way that they don’t get hurt, not to avoid lawsuit but to maintain a good relationship, so that patients feel comfortable in discussing their problems with them.
However, what puts me off is that people expect much higher standards from doctors but themselves feel that they shud get away with their lousy work.