to expect health care professionals to be realistic about obesity

[chocolatehobnobs]

I have just seen a male student nurse walk past my flat window with DP and 2 sweet young DDs. He works on a ward and is 30 stone plus ie morbidly obese. I was horrified to see him carrying a family bucket of KFC.
Last week in the operating theatre a colleague asked me why I had prescribed antibiotics for a patient when another patient having the same operation had not been given them. I replied 'because she is fat' ( longer surgery and obesity mean higher risk of wound complications and infection). She then challenged me in front of our other colleagues saying that she didn't think I should have used the word fat about a patient. I replied that we are all health professionals and all understand that fat is a plain term for raised body mass index or obese and that the patient was not upset as unconscious. She replied that as the patient's advocate she did not want the patient to be referred to as fat or have their weight discussed. I think she was upset as a morbidly obese person herself.
Honestly, I just think that if health professionals cannot accept that obesity is a major health risk and discuss it openly then what chance have we got to improve things.

Just to illustrate the point, a close friend, when a student, left the room in disgust because the two senior people in the theatre were laughing and prodding at an unconscious patient's penis. Is that ok because the patient was out and didn't realise?

No, of course it's bloody not. When have I ever said it is. Seriously, calm down. Please read my earlier post where I have openely corrected colleagues on their appalling language. I do not insult my patients and in this case, I don't think the OP was either.

x post, no I know the OP wasn't taking the piss, but I just feel that even if the person isn't aware of what's going on, a bit of respect is due. This is a topic that really angers me since I was in that situation. I lay on the operating table, terrified, with a team of people who were arsing about and joking, quite apart from the reason I was there being very upsetting, waiting to be put under and being fairly certain what they were going to be saying and how they would be saying it.

OK, I'm calm, sorry Just a bit upset.

Of course some respect is due. Who on this thread has said it isn't?
Out of curiousity, would you have been offended if you were to as fat whilst discussing your care?

I agree with you, OP. Every word you wrote.
If being fat is nothing to be ashamed of, then why not just be adults and address it for what it is?

I'm in two minds about this. On the one hand, I think the word fat as an insult is a matter of perception. Some will be offended. Some will think, well I am fat.

I can also see that as a person under general anesthetic, you feel spectacularly vulnerable. I've been put under a couple of times and even in my early twenties and a size six, I still felt horrible about it. No one wants to have their body discussed while they lie there unconscious.

Who knows what the patients perception of the word fat is but the advocate clearly had an issue. Maybe she has heard worse insults in other surgeries, if this sort of thing is rife, and is hyper alert for criticism.

I don't believe the OP meant it as an insult. It can be perceived as one though so perhaps overweight would be a less loaded word to use in the future.

I think fat is a lazy term for a professional to be using especially when teaching a junior.

I think the OP made the situation on this thread more difficult for herself by including the ridiculous I once saw a fat HCP carrying fatty food with his family story. That automatically made her sound a bit of a judgemental twat.

I do understand some of the points being made. Yes of course we need to tackle the countries growing waistband and it needs to be tackled head on.

However, calling people fat isn't going to suddenly make someone go oh yes why didn't anyone say so before I can now magically lose weight.

Some people need to understand that the word fat can be extremely insulting not many people in the street shout out oh my god look at that obese cow, or jesus look at her she must have a massive bmi.

No they tend to shout out; 'fat bitch', 'fat cunt', 'oh my god look how fat she is', 'bloody hell shoot me if I ever get that fat', 'eurgh look at the state of that how can anyone get that fat it's disgusting' and my personal favourite whilst I was with my husband 'fucking hell look how fat she is, how could you ever want to fuck that fatty bitch, talk about roll her in the flour.'

So I agree fat itself is just a word just like cunt which some people use affectionatley or bitch that can be said with no offense being meant at all. However, in my opinion because a lot of people use fat purely to cause offense or hurt the medical profession should where possible refrain from using the term.