To expect fat nurses to have some insight?.

[Vikingess]

Just had a routine health check today at my GP surgery. Two nurses - both considerably overweight - dispensing advice on diet. I
am not overweight -AIBU to expect health professionals to demonstrate the the standards they recommended or at least admit to falling short.

That is not the same as judging and commenting about the physical appearance of others who are simply going about their work.

No-one has actually done that though. We’re talking about the circumstance, as per the OP, of health professionals giving out advice they clearly don’t follow themselves, to a patient who is not overweight. That is problematic. As their weight is not a health issue, it doesn’t need to be addressed in a medical context.

You may be surprised at how many staff in MH have their own ‘baggage’. They often choose the speciality because they can relate to it or because they want to improve things.

Qualified therapists usually have to have a prolonged period of therapy themselves as they train so they can understand their own emotions and reactions before seeing patients. Your chance of having a completely ‘mentally healthy’ therapist is not guaranteed i reckon. But they can still provide good care.

If they, as healthcare professionals, considered it to be clinically appropriate to give advice on healthy eating, then they would be (to use OP's words) 'falling short' if they did not give that advice. That does not necessitate a thread of anti-nurse fat bashing, which is what this has turned into.

Again, like I have posted many times on here, an addiction is an addiction. Food addiction is real. BED is real. What’s not real is blaming every other issue from no breaks to the government to no time to free chocolates to explain away why you are fat. No. You are fat because you eat too much of the wrong food. Same as an alcoholic drinks too much alcohol. Also, again, like I have said, denial is a huge part of addiction and hugely prevalent on this page hence my excuses comments because at the end of the day that’s all they are.. excuses as to why you are fat rather than acceptance that you eat too much of the wrong food and in many, many case have a food addiction.

What are the other options?

The already direly understaffed NHS should fire all staff who are overweight?

The overweight nurses should not dispense health information to patients?

The nurses should bow and scrape in every appointment and apologize for being fat before they give advice?

What are you looking for here?

You are right, it is up to them and that is the point, every one has free will and it is up to the individual to choose what they want to do, but they deserve not to be judged on their appearance when they are at work providing a service regardless of whether that is their weight, their race, their hair colour, whether they have tattoos or anything else. They are still capable of providing health care even if they are overweight.

Healthy eating advice falls into the realm of health promotion.

Health promotion is aimed at everyone, even those whom are not overweight and can be delivered by any health care professional where health promotion is part of their standards of practice.

The presumption that ‘healthy’ weight equals good overall physical health and healthy habits is the issue within this thread. A healthy weight simply means you’re not what is considered an unhealthy weight. That’s it. Many people are a healthy weight but eat very poorly, thus health promotion may be helpful.
Some people who are at an ‘unhealthy’ weight may be in good health at that point in time though they are obviously at higher risk of faster health deterioration than if they were a healthier weight.

A HCP who is not at a healthy weight does not suddenly become devoid of their responsibility to offer health promotion advice. Nor does their level of expertise and knowledge diminish as their weight goes up. The ethics of how much responsibility a HCP has to ‘model’ healthy habits that can be observed (i.e. weight) can be debated I suppose, though this then enters the realm of ‘healthcare is a vocation not a job, you must serve me however I see fit’ nonsense that still infects society.

All this thread is doing is highlighting the ingrained societal prejudices and presumptions people hold towards body weight. There is also a profound ignorance of the complexities surrounding obesity evident on this thread. The over simplification of topics like that of obesity comes from that ingrained societal toxicity that prevails about weight.

First I have not been involved in “anti nurse fat bashing”; secondly dietary advice to someone who is not overweight in a routine appt is hardly clinically appropriate.

If OP was diabetic, Coeliac etc, it would be a different matter.

But of course mental illness isn't "visible" I wonder if the PP would ask their therapist to confirm their "mental stability"

This thread is a prime example of why nurses smoke, drink and comfort eat 🙄🤣 held to impossible standards under shocking conditions. Expected to be perfect in every way. Even those defending us and calling us 'angels' and all that bollocks is frustrating. I'm not an angel, I just enjoy(ed) my job. Leave me to fags, beer and maccys in peace and let me do my fucking job.

You may not have, but others have been.

There may well have been a clinically appropriate reason to give dietary advice, even if OP were not overweight. We don't have her test results or any other information about her medical or family history.

If the OP feels offended or thinks clinicians were unprofessional, then the appropriate response would be to make a complaint. Yet another thread of cruel comments about people just going about their work is unnecessary.

It was a routine check up, come on. Not worth making a complaint over.

They might not think it is appropriate. But that doesn't change the fact that it's their job!

That's my view too. But if OP feels aggrieved, that's the route to take. She's clearly annoyed enough to start a thread about it.

Let's just say I have met a couple of therapists who were so visibly anxious- and also talked endlessly about how anxious they were on their social media- that I decided to deal with my own anxiety another way. I need my therapist to have it more together than I do. Otherwise what's the point?

Maintaining a healthy weight is a health issue and OP was given information on a healthy diet. It’s public education.

YANBU. Totally agree with you. They should practice what they speak.

Oh for gods sake. No one’s preaching.😂

HCPs are a mouth piece for public health information. It’s their job.

Dietary advice during a woman’s over 50 health check gives people information on lowering cholesterol, reducing salt intake to lower blood pressure and so on.

Everyone eats, so in medical terms everyone has a “diet”

It’s not as if a random fat person in the street walked up to you and said “excuse me, I think you’re fat”

The nurse is there to convey health information.

Just as if you had a rep giving you advice on new double glazing. He might not agree with what he’s promoting, he’s simply a vehicle to convey information to you.

I mean maybe in the future you’ll be able to walk into a booth and be given the results of a health check via a computer screen- a robotic voice twill give you dietary advice and you won’t be able to accuse it of being hypocritical or judgemental or other such nonsense.

Of course we’ll all be suffering with mental health issues and be completely socially inept due to a lack of human interaction which is a draw back 😂

Got to love having a response deleted for calling out twatish behaviour, yet the completely inflammatory and quite aggressive reading posts are allowed to stand. Thanks @MumsnetHQ

She is a healthy weight so it’s completely unnecessary.

It was an over 65 women!s health check.
Dietary advice is useful to all patients regardless of their body weight which is why it’s included.

Dietary advice doesn’t mean advising someone to “go on a diet”.

It’s to raise awareness about the nutrients and supplements a menopausal woman might need- the importance of maintaining good cholesterol levels through diet- the effects of blood stats on health and how to alter them- eating less salt to prevent hypertension for example.

Women over 65 are at higher risk of putting on weight as they age so advice applies to everyone.
Its your choice what you do with tgat.

Patients are adults and can choose whether to follow medical guidelines.

Its childish to react by criticising the professional giving you information.

Do you think football players sneer and moan when they’re given fitness and diet advice and start huffing that their manager has a belly and can’t score a penalty? They’d be told to grow up 😬

One major assumption here is that being overweight is just caused by eating junk. It isn’t. I know people who have thyroid conditions who eat very small amounts of healthy food and are still very large. There’s a medical reason for their size.

A relative put on weight during and after chemo due to drugs. It wasn’t diet.

its not always just as simple as putting down a donut.

I disagree and so does the NHS. Healthy weight does not equal healthy diet.

Well let’s be honest you are more likely to have a healthy diet if you are within a healthy weight range. Especially as you get older. I know I can’t get away with eating what I like anymore.

They shouldn’t offer unsolicited advice. They can ask a few questions and find out very quickly if people need their very basic nutrition advice.