Speaking To Obese People About Their Weight Is Not Easy

What should you do when your friends and colleagues are overweight?

Doctors often face a dilemma when dealing with obese people. They don’t know whether to ignore the obesity problem completely, gently comment on it but not to push the issue or whether they should very seriously and angrily explain the health dangers that the condition brings with it and possibly risk upsetting the patient.

Obese people are normally extremely sensitive about their condition as a result of bullying and teasing over many years which has left them feeling very defensive about their eating and exercise habits. Some obese people say that since they already know that they are obese they don’t really need to be told again by a doctor. It has even been argued that when people comment on their weight it makes them more depressed and lowers their self esteem which in turn can actually make them eat more.

Doctors also say that patients get angry when they go in to see a doctor for example for a cold and the doctor starts to berate them about their weight problem. Some doctors even go as far as to refuse to treat obese individuals until they first lose some weight. Whatever the case it is clear is that obesity is not just a simple physical health problem but also a psychological one too.

At Ukmedix News we recently reported about how calling people fat is percieved to be a terrible insult and causes great offence. Nevertheless there is a need for doctors to be blunt and clear about the dangers that excess weight can cause.

There are those who believe that doctors should warn about the psychological damage that excess weight can do too. There is plenty of evidence to show that depression is more likely to occur in obese people than in those of a normal weight. Should doctors therefore be telling depressed people to lose weight or should they just prescribe an antidepressant?

What should you do when your friends and colleagues are overweight, should you just ignore it or should you risk jeopardising a relationship and actually encourage them to do something about it?