Posted on 08/24/2005 7:20:13 AM PDT by Millee
As doctors warn more patients that they should lose weight, the advice has backfired on one doctor with a woman filing a complaint with the state saying he was hurtful, not helpful.
Dr. Terry Bennett says he tells obese patients their weight is bad for their health and their love lives, but the lecture drove one patient to complain to the state.
"I told a fat woman she was obese," Bennett says. "I tried to get her attention. I told her, 'You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that is going to kill you.' "
He says he wrote a letter of apology to the woman when he found out she was offended.
Her complaint, filed about a year ago, was initially investigated by a board subcommittee, which recommended that Bennett be sent a confidential letter of concern. The board rejected the suggestion in December and asked the attorney general's office to investigate.
Bennett rejected that office's proposal that he attend a medical education course and acknowledge that he made a mistake.
Bruce Friedman, chairman of the board of medicine, said he could not discuss specific complaints. Assistant Attorney General Catherine Bernhard, who conducted the investigation, also would not comment, citing state law that complaints are confidential until the board takes disciplinary action.
The board's Web site says disciplinary sanctions may range from a reprimand to the revocation of all rights to practice in the state.
"Physicians have to be professional with patients and remember everyone is an individual. You should not be inflammatory or degrading to anyone," said board member Kevin Costin.
Other overweight patients have come to Bennett's defense.
"What really makes me angry is he told the truth," Mindy Haney told WMUR-TV on Tuesday. "How can you punish somebody for that?"
Haney said Bennett has helped her lose more than 150 pounds, but acknowledged that the initially didn't want to listen.
"I have been in this lady's shoes. I've been angry and left his practice. I mean, in-my-car-taking-off angry," Haney said. "But once you think about it, you're angry at yourself, not Doctor Bennett. He's the messenger. He's telling you what you already know."
>> So this stupid woman needs to get a clue and join Weight Watchers, clean out the fridge, stay away from the Ding-Dongs and the Old Milwaukee, whatever it takes.<<
Actually, I know many overweight women who do stay away from all of that but never get off the couch.
Walking is great exercise. Now if I could just find a way to get a wireless laptop and walk while I FReep, I could drop weight like crazy!
Me TOOOOO, I'M FAT.... I make jokes about it and my kids tease me about it. Some friends say that it's horrible to joke about it and that they know that it MUST hurt my feelings. It doesn't. If I were ugly and couldn't help it then it would hurt my feelings. But, I caused this with my unnatural afinity for chocolate and cheese : )
"He should have flattered her and told her that she didn't sweat much for a fat girl. :-)"
lol
>>If I were ugly and couldn't help it then it would hurt my feelings.<<
Amen!
I married a man who can swig beer and have a HoHo chaser but never gain an ounce. My looney MIL is the same way.
She looked at me once, waving an Oreo and said, "Ya know when I feel my pants getting tight, I just stop these!"
I said, "Aren't you blessed! My mother went on chicken and tomatoes for six months to drop 25 pounds for an operation. So what do you do about getting OLD?"
She freaks about her age and doesn't want to be called Grandma, just "Honey". BTW she is 78.
Actually there are a lot of fat old people in nursing homes. They are their because their lifetime obesity has blown their knees and feet and they can't live on their own because they have crippled themselves.
I worked my way through college at a home and we had two types of patients, skinny alzheimers types who had wandering or combative tendencies and fat types who couldn't walk anymore due to weight.
Strangely, I don't remember that we had any fat alzheimers types.
I know that was possibly an unkind thing to say, but it was begging to be put into this thread somewhere! ;-)
Some of the people who are most condescending to people who are overweight smoke like chimneys (common), take drugs that make it pretty hard to get fat (common), exercise so hard they are infertile (women -- not too many of these), or engage in high-risk sex practices (common). Yes. I am saying that many of the people who are so disgusted by fat have their own vices that can cause death.
I am annoyed that we are becoming a society where public and private employers can say "if you smoke, you cannot work here. Health care costs, you know." This will become "if you are too fat, you cannot work here. Health care costs, you know."
But the gay guys will never be told, "You cannot work here. Health care cost, you know." I don't think they should be discriminated against, but I don't think the overweight people should be singled out as a "fair game" group to make fun of (like white male hunters, Christians, rednecks, etc.)
Good for your wife! My sister in law is a labor and delivery nurse and she complains about the doctors constantly. She is pretty up front too and they don't dump on her.
The BMI the goverment is using is not very good. I'm 6'8" and to be overweight I would have to weigh 230 I weighed 235 my sophmore year in high school when I was a 3 sport athlete AND surfing.
I think they should measure body fat % instead of weight.
BTTT -- this is a growing health problem. Admittedly many people do NOT want to change their life styles and get out there and start exercising. (Me included sometimes) But I lost 60 pounds on a fabulous diet!
From what my wife has told me, the docs will "bully" nurses until the nurses stand up to them. Not ALL docs are this way. In fact, there are VERY good ones at every place she's worked! But a good many of them try to bully the RNs. Once the RNs establish "boundaries" and set expectations, things get better. :-)
Buy a treadmill and set it up in front of your computer. We're about to get one ourselves.
Not so different that many other occupations I must say. My office has several bullies!
ROTFLMBO!
Yup, the get off your fat butt and eat less diet never seems to get as much attention as it should.
You are correct, the BMI can be misleading. Athletes that weight train like football players are heavier due to their muscle weight. They may have little body fat but a high BMI.
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