Are You Overweight? Is Your Doctor Overweight?

If you’re concerned about your weight, but your doctor hasn’t engaged you in a discussion about healthy weight loss, ask yourself whether or not your doctor is overweight. A recent study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health concluded that a patient’s diagnosis as obese may depend on the body mass index (BMI) of the patient’s physician.

Doctors with healthy BMIs were more likely to give advice about weight loss, diet, and exercise to obese patients than those whose BMIs were higher. They felt more confident that their advice would seem trustworthy to patients.  In contrast, obese doctors were more likely to prescribe weight loss medications. Physicians were also more likely to diagnose patients as obese when the physicians considered the patients to have a higher BMI than their own.

Nearly one-quarter of Canadians 19 years or older are obese. Being obese increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and many other serious illnesses.

It is important for patients to receive support and guidance when losing weight, so if you are motivated to make a healthy change, speak to your health care practitioner.