Do some doctors just get a kick out of telling you to lose weight?

Well you can easily research this yourself to make an informed decision.

I disagree saying diabetic is not taxing to manage. Information the patient gets is a lot and they will be referred to a management clinic when they are first diagnosed however the HCP cannot make the patient follow the advice/guidelines. Complications can happen and you’ll be surprised at how many diabetics have to have their feet or limbs amputated because they did not follow advice what they were given. A lot if this is due to diet and eating carbs that spike their blood sugar levels, so weight management is serious when your life depends on it, could easily end up having a hypo and end up in a coma.

Exactly. You don’t have to take i the advice. But HCP do need to have that conversation so we can tick it off our documentation.

Well I don’t know, I don’t know everyone who have them issues. That’s a rather general statement. You could say that about any health complaint. But also I’m a nurse, not practice nurse but have worked in that environment and I have never brushed off an issue as a weight issue. Do you work in healthcare? Because you can’t really understand how many health conditions could improve greatly by patients reducing their weight. It’s not a habit of just implying, it’s 3/4 years of university training and 2300 hours of placement hours that inform my decisions. Anyone can have an opinion but unless you actually work and have qualified as a Gp/HCP you can never understand why we do what we do. Cervical cancer is caused by the HPV, I’m not going to start investigating other things and telling the patient to lose weight when I do a smear, when the one thing I’m looking for is abnormal cells.

Why is anyone surprised that a healthcare clinician would advise someone to do something that would make their bodies healthier? It’s obvious. It’s not like they’re phoning you weekly to nag you, it’s just benign advice that they have to give you.

If you don’t want to or you already are, just ignore it.

Honestly, yes this is correct. That's actually great. They aren't there to chat to you. They get minutes to see you and chances are you're not going to say something widely relevant. Being overweight and a diabetic isn't a taxing.or unusual thing to manage.

Why on earth would they get a kick out of it?! They're probably as bored by the subject as you are but health advice is their job so just smile nod and leave.

Honestly, no, I don't think he said it to upset you. It's just that he's almost duty bound to re-iterate this sort of thing. I really wouldn't take it personally. You're probably one of many he's seen that day to whom he has said the same thing.

Well I believe that there’s no evidence telling people ‘to loose weight’ or ‘exercise more’ and sending them on their way isn’t helpful at all.

Thats why GP are (used to? I’ve lost track) send people to WW instead and to get exercise on prescription. Because peoole guidance. Not an off hard comment.

And even then, seeing that 80% who have lost weight regain that weight within a few years (that’s what research says), you can still wonder if it was worth it in the first place…
Or maybe it simply points towards the fact we don’t have such a great handle on what loosing weight means in the LT. Because we still think it’s a personal flaw, no will, greedy etc…

Type 2 diabetes is probably one of the few cases where the relationship is obvious.

Bit how many times, people complains have been brushed off as ‘a weight issue’ when it wasn’t? Just like some many things are also brushed off as ‘anxiety’

Im not denying that loosing weight can be great. But this habit of implying Theres only one cause to a problem and then ignoring anything else that could be done as well isn’t helping anyone.

Yup infuriates me greatly, I lost 4.5 stone and after my initial MW appt I specifically asked not to be weighed in unless there was a clinical need (our hb is obsessed with weight). Overall I gained a stone - still got half stone lurking 2 years on 😂. Subsequently I’ve had more interactions with different dept and again they have been overall respectful of my request to not weigh unless clinically significant. I am well aware of my weight and track it myself so don’t need someone else wading in as it’s incredibly triggering for me. As long as my BMI is below 30 I’m happy with that 🤷‍♀️

Would you mind pointing to these studies on overweight people please?

@LottieLamaz studies have demonstrated that brief interventions have a beneficial impact on behaviour. It may not work for you, but the overall evdience suggests it does for most people. This is what has lead to GPs being required to document eg smoking status, and add a code for advice given.

Ruddy HCPs trying to help people. Just because we don’t want to hear that losing a bit of weight might help our health, doesn’t stop it being true. Friends and family are the ones to praise us for our previous efforts, not doctors on a 10 min appt.

I disagree with you. I would want to go to my GP if I was sick without being told I am fat. Respectfully.

I understand that if I came with backache or diabetes then it would be something which would be discussed. If I come with an ear infection, I don’t need to be told I need to lose weight .

Ugh, so annoying when they do that. In my country we pay quite a bit for healthcare, and there have been a few times I've paid to see a doctor only to be diagnosed as fat! Yes doctor, I am aware that I'm a bit overweight, but can we also look at my health issue please?

@LottieLamaz I believe there is evidence that advice from a HCP increases the chances of people successfully modifying their lifestyle - dieting, quitting smoking, reducing alcohol etc. That is why the GP contract requires these brief interventions.

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you, but I think a smoker is more likely to try and quit if a clinician mentions it in passing when discussing something unrelated.

We all know how easy it is to drift along and ignore that habits we have that aren’t good, and sometimes having someone draw attention to it is the push we need to make changes.

I asked for help with my weight a year ago at my GP surgery and was told there was nothing they could do (I had a BMI of 40!). I went for a Mounjaro private prescription, but the GP couldn't advise as they apparently didn't know anything about it. Seems the help available is very variable!

I am slim now, but all I am saying is I didn’t need a doctor to tell me I was fat unless I came with a health condition directly caused by being fat. Most fat people know what a healthy diet looks like and how to lose weight in theory.

Who told you this? A doctor? A nurse a HCA? If your bmi was less than 20 why didn’t you say you weren’t overweight? Or where was the evidence to support their claim you were overweight?

Alcoholics know they need to give up boozing.

Smokers know they need to give up smoking.

Vapers know they need to give up vaping.

Drug users know they need to give up using drugs.

None of that means doctors should be forced into silence about those things.

But being fat is not healthy. Even if you don’t have any other conditions, you have more visceral fat that literally squashes your organs and a highly percentage of developing long term health conditions over a slim person. These are facts. Same goes to an underweight person, they also have a greater risk of bone disease or heart failure because of their lack of weight. If someone had a drug problem would you not bring it up because they might get upset? Even if that drug problem is causing major health problems?

I mean it’s their job to treat patients so no I don’t think that and seems you’re projecting your own experiences to rather than facts. GPs have to document every single patients visit. There are serious consequences if they do not do this. This is not something that GPs are HCP want to do, as it takes up time that could be used with a patient. Documentation was set up by a higher authority, not nurses or GPS or HCP. Surely you can understand they have to record the patient visit?

I wasn't fat though, my BMI was under 20 and I was told I could probably lose some weight, this was many years ago but I haven't forgotten it.

My Doctor told me I’m too fat last week. Sadly he’s right .