This is just . . . weird

[pegkerr]

Doctor in trouble for calling woman obese.

The story doesn't say exactly how he phrased what he said to her. I gotta think there is more to the story here.

It makes me think of that term Berke Breathed coined: "Offensensitivity."

Comments

[em-h.livejournal.com]

"if you saw your doctor about a sinus infection and, after describing your symptoms, his first comment was, "You know, you could stand to gain 20 pounds." I'm suggesting that would be seen as odd and inappropriate."

Well, when I was in my twenties, I was in a minor bike accident, and went to a doctor to make sure the bruises and cuts weren't serious. They weren't, but she _immediately_ called me on my very low weight. She was right. I was anorexic. She dealt with this with a lot of sensitivity, and I ended up seeing her regularly as part of the recovery process. So yeah, it does happen, and it can be a good thing.

I don't know the details of this particular case, but sometimes a doctor does need to address a manifest problem that isn't what the patient came in about.

[jbru.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you received welcome advice from your doctor. I still think it's a little weird to bring up the weight of the patient when treating them for something unrelated.

And at least you did get treated for your injuries. See the many replies here about how some doctors ignore problems they think are connected to a patient's weight in favor of giving them advice about their weight.