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What Doctors Don't Say About Obesity

time.com — If there's one place where it's a good idea to come clean, it's the doctor's office. Patients with an ache, a symptom or a bad habit like smoking do no one any good if they keep it to themselves. Yet there's one time doctors are often less than forthcoming: when they have to tell patients they need to lose weight.

Who dugg this? Made popular Aug 25, 2007

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  • bobcrotch, on 10/10/2007, -6/+43I weigh 240 lbs and I'm 6'1" tall, I ride 12 miles a day and walk a mile a day. I am clinically obese.
  • 15thPD, on 10/10/2007, -3/+27Obesity is no laughing matter. I became obese, and because of my obesity, contracted diabetes. I am now going blind, have extremely high blood pressure, can't walk to the end of my driveway without hyper-ventilating, have a persistent backache, and the top of my back is starting to hunch over. Due to the diabetes, my immune system is severely weakened, and as a result I have a year-round sinus infection that affects my hearing a great deal.

    Some day, hopefully not very soon, I will be legally blind, possibly deaf, and completely unable to take care of myself. I am only 19 years old. I became obese in the first place because my softy parents allowed me to quit school in the 6th grade, under the guise of being "homeschooled," which I never was. Before this, I was a healthy, skinny kid, that was on the baseball team during baseball season, the basketball team during basketball season, and the football team during football season.

    Let me tell you a little story about how I became this way. When I was a kid, in the fifth grade, I wanted to quit school, like every other kid. I wanted to sit at home and watch TV all day, and eat junk foods. My parents were weak-willed enough to allow me to do this. They allowed me to quit school, told the state I was being home-schooled (I never was, so technically, I only have a 5th grade education), and my mother brought me cheeseburgers home from mcdonalds every day. I guess it isn't entirely their fault. I was a very convincing, and dare I say, bright kid. I made them believe that I would literally rather die than go to school one more day. This was not true and I did not particularly dislike school, I just didn't really want to go.

    I'm not going to give you my life story here, but just let this comment be a warning to all of you. Never become lazy, or you may end up like me, a 19 year old kid with a debilitating weight/lifestyle-related disease, that will not live to see 30. Even though I have realized the error of my ways, my body is too far gone to repair. I could start excersizing, go on a diet, but truthfully, not only do I not have the willpower or self-control, I don't think I would be able to fix broken body anyway. It seems to me that if I were to really try to make myself healthy, all I would end up doing is prolong my wretched life, and since I am going blind from the diabetes, that is something I DO NOT want to do. If I'm gonna be blind, I want to die young. I refuse to live a life of blindness and complete dependency. It would be a joyless life consisting of nothing more than waiting for death. Actually, I want todo the opposite. I eat even more junk food now than I used to, hoping that maybe I'll have a heart-attack and die before I have to suffer through blindness. My eyesight is pretty damn bad already, but I can still use the computer, and see the TV good enough to watch it, and sadly, that is all that I do. I don't have a single friend in the world, and due to not socializing since I quit school 8 or 9 years ago, I have no social skills whatsoever, and have developed a pretty strong social phobia. I can't go out into public without becoming nervous to the extent of almost passing out.

    Laziness completely ruined my life and any chance I had of a future, DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOURSELVES OR YOUR KIDS. I know jokes are going to commence after I post this comment, I honestly don't care, but please, if anything, take this comment seriously. Everything I have typed here is true, and I do not want this to happen to anybody else. Let your kids read this, it might help them in the future.
  • derek20cali, on 10/10/2007, -2/+22How many calories a day do you consume?
  • bill121, on 10/10/2007, -3/+21Can't the doctors just say "Hey Fatty McButterpants, easy with the cheeseburgers"
  • inactive, on 10/10/2007, -11/+28Why should anyone be embarrassed? Fat people are jolly!
  • Puppetfunk, on 10/10/2007, -3/+18You got to the doctor every time you're sick? Jesus I only go for checkups or when I might die.
  • carpespasm, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13maybe because weighing as much as many people do puts strain on every bodily system that those systems are not designed to work like that for. if your heart is designed to pump blood around a 150lb person but is pumping it around an extra hundred pounds of ass then it's gonna wear out faster, same goes for knees, lungs, etc....
  • bill121, on 10/10/2007, -6/+18Well sir, I just checked your records and it says eventhough you get plenty of exercise, you eat 37 fried twinkies a day. You may want to cut that out, tubby.
  • LotyBoy, on 10/10/2007, -6/+18Actually Patients who hide the fact that they're smokers do THEMSELVES a huge favor since Insurance companies are ***** ***** who refuse to pay for problems completely unrelated to smoking if they find out you are or used to be a smoker. I'm not PRO smoking. But I am ANTI Insurance company. It can literally be 10 years since you last smoked a cigarette when you need back surgery and they'll deny the claim because 10 years ago you smoked which invalidates your original insurance application.
  • Gman1223, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12For someone with a 5th grade education, you seem very literate.
  • Promantarius, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Isn't the Body Mass Index thing flawed? Where you could have a large percentage of body fat, but still be within the acceptable range because you lost body mass in the form of muscle? =/
  • harrv, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8His BMI is 31.7. The only things considered when calculating BMI are height and weight, which he gave us.
  • Promantarius, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9You know, being overweight or obese could actually be contributing to the severity of illnesses that you happen to suffer from, the doctor could be giving you sound advice.
  • derek20cali, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10Calorie in / calorie out is not a difficult concept.
  • snapcase, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8According to the BMI chart body builders are obese or morbidly obese.

    BMI has jack ***** to do with health. I doesn't take into account muscle mass or anything else for that matter. *****, it was never even intended to be used as a measure of actual health.
  • SPECOPS, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8Carrots are the worst, they turn into sugar (really, they do). Eat lettuce or tomatoes, or celery.
  • emjaymj, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6That caption was informative too.

    "Doctor's hand holding stethoscope to patient's back."

    Who woulda thunk it?
  • pumacub, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10Oh please... that's all doctors say these days. It's become their new universal excuse.
  • Zarokima, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7and fun to poke
  • monkiboi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6People need to stop being so sensitive. Everything in moderation. We put to much into "losing weight," when it should be about being healthy.
  • FTLJohnson, on 10/10/2007, -5/+11steak doesn't make you fat - sugar does. Bread, cake, candy... ice cream.

    EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. Stop eating bread and sugar almost entirely. (definitely no sugar)
  • Promantarius, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6I'm sure many, many blind people would completely disagree with your assessment of life being joyless without sight. Sure, it might be a bit more interesting when you can see, but it's not the end of the world in our society. It sounds like you've just given up and aren't willing to fix your life, even though you're young enough to fix it up quite a bit. You could lose your excess weight, reduce the impact of diabetes, lower your blood pressure and lead a partly normal life. Instead, however, you're moping about and wallowing in self pity.

    Get up and fix your problems, will power is something you have to constantly relearn, like patience. It gets easier with time, but sitting on digg talking about your problems isn't going to fix them.
  • EXreaction, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Be nice to your mom.
  • derek20cali, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8He didn't say that.
  • Promantarius, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7I'm assuming you aren't a dietician? The key to weight management - and loss - is moderation and appropriate portion sizes. Steak, in excessive amounts and non-lean cuts, can indeed make you fat. Sugar is easily converted to energy, so if you're doing lots of physical activity consuming some is good for you. Consuming excessive amounts is not.

    Saying to not eat bread is something you would be unlikely to hear coming from a dietician. Multi-grain bread is a great slow release source of carbohydrates, fibre, etc. Diet charts recommend a certain number of breads and cereals, fruits and vegetables, meats and dairy every day. Naturally you should keep any fatty/sugary sweets and deserts to a minimum, everyone recommends that. But to alter your diet to include only meat, fruit and vegetables isn't likely to be a very easy stick with, or necessarily that great for you (some fruits are very high in sugar, avocado is high in fat, coconut is high in fat, meat cuts aren't all lean, etc.)

    Unless you are a dietician by profession (not a back-seat driver) the most dietary advice you should give someone is to eat a variety of foods in moderation, limiting cakes, biscuits and other sugary/fatty foods to a minimum. If you're ever in doubt, schedule an appointment with a dietician to get some insight into what you should be eating.
  • bobcrotch, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Normal daily intake I don't know, i eat a sandwhich with half mayo, no cheese and veggies. A reasonable dinner normally some sort of veggies and meat, sometimes a carb like taters or rice. I don't min-max my diet because I'm really doing it for personal reasons and because I love to bike. If I were to get serious about my diet I could drop weight a lot quicker.
  • cfd339, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Funny, Bob, your post looks almost exactly like mine the other day in another thread. I'm 5'9" and about 210 pounds (+/- 5 on any given day). I'm a 40 year old firefighter with broad shoulders and cleared by OSHA to work hard in dangerous, superheated conditions. The same charts call me obese as well. I've had insurance problems until one company actually sent a nurse around who after doing a brief (and fully clothed, thank you) physical checked a box this particular insurance company had on the form to classify me as "[x] athletic/weightlifter" -- which isn't quite accurate but close enough I suppose.
  • Cyberen, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5There's a blind professor teaching at my college. What does that tell you?
  • xmonk, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5What's just as bad is that the doctors assume that if you're skinny, you're healthy. I have a BMI of about 19 but I'm in terrible shape. When I work out and get some muscle mass, then the BMI starts getting higher.
  • dime, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Part of the problem is that the cheapest and quickest foods are actually the worst for you. You can spend 45 minutes preparing a grilled tuna steak, microgreen salad and fruit medley for $20, or you can spend 3 minutes getting McDonalds for $6. As we progress more and more into a "need it NOW" society, we get pulled even closer to the mass produced artery clogging foods.

    I think it really lies in education. Most people can't cook... and if they can, they don't know how to make healthy food actually taste good. I think if we put more a focus on educating children on cooking tasty food that is good for you, we could probably save untold billions down the road as they grow up with less health problems. Home Ec for a more streamlined government budget? Crazy thought.
  • rahl92189, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Wow, thats really pretty bad. I am obese, and I am actually realizing that I need to do something about it now, and realizing that its really so simple as staying away from unhealthy foods and getting exercise. I am 17, and not diabetic but I fear that if I had kept up my previous lifestyle of pizza and mountain dew, I may have been for sure. Best of luck to ya, and its nice to see someone on digg honest and informative. God Bless!
  • bobcrotch, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5haha i was just drunk and posted this, I assumed it would get buried. I eat relatively healthy. I've only been doing this routine for about a month now and I've lost around 13 pounds. Pretty cool though to see other folks taking the same course of action as my self.

    I really have always laughed at the clinically obese thing though, I've always been able to at least run a mile and been in general good physical shape. I just love to eat obviously, it's my pitfall. Oh and drink beer, oops!
  • MalachiPearl, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5"You are what you eat, and you clearly went out and devoured a big fat guy didn't you". Dr. Cox knows how to be a little more forthcoming.
  • 0260, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4all body builders are statistically obese. just because a person is heavy, doesnt mean they are sick
  • analogpark, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5I believe this is a personal choice. A smoker knows smoking is detrimental to their health. An obese person also knows excess weight is detrimental to their health. The same can be said about foods that cause high blood pressure or cholesterol (even at a healthy weight), drinking alcohol, illegal drugs, etc etc. I believe the problem lies in the mental impact more than physical.
    While I am not obese, I have a few extra pounds that I am not too worried about. I may be able to extend my life by 5 or 10 years if I skip the red meat and refrain from drinking alcohol regularly, but why bother? Self preservation at any cost is implanted in our minds from the beginning. I would much rather lead a quality life than quantity. Enjoying the fruits of our labor and the 'sinful' delights, in some form of moderation, of course.
  • ciano, on 10/10/2007, -5/+8I used to weigh 240 lbs and I'm 6' tall, I ride (a car) 12 miles a day and walk a mile a day. I am clinically obese. I started a daily workout routine, consisting of 20 push-ups, 60 sit-ups, 12 arm-curls (per arm), and 8 weird things where I bend to the side. I don't know what that one's called. But I now weigh 210 lbs, and I'm still losing weight. I do these exercises to a soundtrack of Stan Bush, Motorhead, and Journey.
  • 15thPD, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4I was 10 years old, it wasn't my responsibility to know what was best for me.
  • rockforever, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3There are insurance plans for smokers out there. They do cost more. Smoking is just like anything else really. If you've had 2 heart attacks and lied on your insurance forms you're damn right they'd invalidate them, why not smoking. It has a major effect on your health.
  • Gman1223, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I wanted to say more but it was too late to edit my comment.
    I can see you're in a very bad situation, but maybe it isn't time to give up just yet.
    Check yourself into rehab or something man, you can still jump back, its not too late. I can understand the social problem you have since I was home schooled too. I've been at the same point that you are right now, well, except the fat problem. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and push ahead.

    Don't be lazy like you were when you were a kid, thats what got you into this mess in the first place. And don't bash yourself because you think that you have a 5th grade education, I've seen high school kids you can't even read.

    If you ever want to chat with me my msn ID is: justin.whin at gmail.com (also my main email). I like to talk to people who were home schooled :)

    Gman
  • Marijuana, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5I like how fatties always blame somebody else.
  • lucid270, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3a) Tell that to the UK, their obesity rate is only slightly behind that of the US.
  • rockforever, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3FTA- "Doctors may also tell kids that their weight is a couple of years ahead of their age."

    I lol'ed. Why not use that for other things too?
    "Son, your brain is a few years behind your age. You're going to have to repeat the third grade."
  • EXreaction, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6Want a cookie?

    Oh, wait...
  • Eldarien, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3"Doctor's hand holding stethoscope to patient's back."
    Wow, I'm glad they cleared that up for me. I honestly had no idea what was going on in that picture.
  • Roblodocus, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6Quote - "I weigh 240 lbs and I'm 6'1" tall, I ride 12 miles a day and walk a mile a day. I am clinically obese."

    Here's how it works: If your metabolism uses 2500 calories a day and you're consuming 2500 or more calories per day, you are either going to 1) stay the same weight or 2) gain weight.

    It doesn't matter how much walking you do, if you're consuming more calories than you're burning off by walking and being alive, you're still going to gain weight and you'll still be a fat ass. You'll just be a fat ass that walks a mile a day.
  • Promantarius, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3That or he's not using a clinically valid method of accurately measuring his body state. BMI is only a very vague indication, if you're actually 10% body fat you aren't overweight (unless you're a model or body builder that thinks anything over 6% is overweight.)
  • Gman1223, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2He is talking about the fact that he has only a "5th grade education" When he writes better than most high schoolers. Most people would define that as being above a 5th grade education.
  • unknownpoltroon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Which is also *****. NOTHING ELSE KILLS AMERICANS. You got cancer, and heart disease. Thats it.
  • Rayfound, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Yes it does work. The hard part is just calculating what the Calories out are... It is fairly difficult to figure out how many calories you burn just by being alive... but once you do, all you have to do is eat less than that number and you will lose weight 100% of the time. (that being said, your metabolism CAN slow down a little when you eat less, and the Calories Out goes down on you - but the Math is dead simple)

    Figuring out the Calorie output is hard, but managing your intake to that, once you know the number, is brain-dead easy.
  • doublej42, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I'm 220 bike only 8 walk 4, I know how you feel, oh ya also 6 foot 1.
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