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.

Well i wouldn't assume much intelligence when a 'professional' who knows the health consequences of malnutrition allows themselves to become malnurished and then thinks they can tell others, in their 'professional' capacity, about nutrition.
Your response assumes all nurses are women; quite judgy in itself

You don’t know the nurses were malnourished, there are many reasons why someone in a demanding role with long unsociable shifts might be overweight which have nothing to do with intellectually understanding nutrition.

The vast majority of nurses are women, that was more so the case in years gone by - but yes there’s an assumption there. I never claimed I don’t make assumptions or judgements.

They can though can’t they? Otherwise they wouldn’t be allowed to do their job.

Maybe you could have said that as they could see, you don't have an issue with your weight and have a healthy lifestyle already?

Better to respond at the time, rather than take comments some time later on a forum?

I didn't know over 65s got a free health check. It's certainly not offered where I live. (And to be honest, where they are, they seem a waste of time- all they do is a BP and weight check and people can do those at home.)

Interestingly, the BMI weight limit to train for the police is 32. Which is obese.

Yes I'd expect that tbh. I have binge eating disorder and I had a nurse who was larger than me say ; 'Look, it's easier for me to say than to follow myself, but here is some information that you may find useful'.

It was honest and hit the perfect note for me.

No.

My sister is an excellent relationship counsellor despite her own checkered romantic history.

🙄 not all jobs are the same. If you don’t know the difference between treating cancer and community work then I really can’t help you. What a ridiculous analogy.

Yabu and rude. Also as a NHS worker I can tell you it's impossible to eat properly when on shift and you grab what you can which sadly is biscuits. doesn't mean their medical advice isn't important. Giving this advice is part of their job.

Yes I agree with you. Weeks after having my baby I had to meet the nurse, because I was a new patient. I brought my new born with me. An extremely overweight nurse told me that I needed to lose weight! 1.5 stone! I laughed and said, I just had a baby. Apparently that was just an excuse! I looked at her in disbelief. It felt wrong for someone even fatter to tell me to lose weight!

NHS staff are often judgmental and self-important, while being less than self-aware IME.
On my one and only visit to A&E I was made to feel guilty about having had an unavoidable accident, despite having never before bothered a hospital in 40+ years of paying into the health service, and being surrounded by others that clearly hadn’t, but were being treated better than me.

She's not being rude, just stating how she feels.
I'm sure there are other options than biscuits...

In my experience, recently been in many hospitals regularly, doctors are generally thin and nurses fat - not all obviously, but many noticeably in the obese range.

I imagine your two ‘fat nurses’ have lots of ‘insight’ into eating a healthy diet and the repercussions of eating a bad diet. They must see diabetics, alcoholics, heart failure patients, malnourished frail old people all day long.

I assume you want a health professional to be well trained, compassionate, hard working, diligent and a good listener.
Im not sure why you only want general diet advice from thin people. You know you can eat a really healthy, whole food, plant rich diet, have great health and life chances and still be a bit fat? And you can be thin with shocking heart health, kidney problems, skin problems, liver function problems.

Perhaps people less perfect than you prefer to discuss their problems managing weight with someone who has ‘insight’ into that, rather than a perfect and thin nurse who has no ‘insight’ into the everyday failings of ordinary people.

Yanbu op. Right or wrong I would find this very annoying and wonder why they didn’t take their own advice!

That's unfair op. But, The dietary advice from nhs is poor. Or rather weight is such a complex issue it requires more investigation. The uk has an obesity crisis so the basic simplistic advice is clearly not working.

I am a thin doctor, but goodness I am unhealthy. I eat way too much sugar and processed food and do not do exercise. Despite my knowledge, I am not a healthy person. However, because to the outside world I am thin, no one judges me.

I recently had a over 50 health check with a nurse. She asked me the screening questions and I said that I really needed to do more exercise and eat more healthily. Her exact words were,’no don’t worry. You will be absolutely fine, look at you. The last time I weighed what you do was on my wedding day!’

I find this kind of response far far more irresponsible than the nurse in the OP. I could be thin for a variety of reasons, physical or mental. in her eyes she had swallowed society’s view that thin is desirable so dismissed my concerns.

Obviously I am informed and educated enough to address these issues myself but I would quite like to discuss this with a health professional as a ‘patient’ outside of my ‘doctor’ professional role.

Give me the nurse in the OP any day. She was the one doing her job properly.

Nah, it's possible to do your job properly whilst also not being great at doing the thing you do for work in your personal life. I know two doctors, one smokes, the other drinks loads and does coke. I know a psychotherapist with depression. I used to know a mortgage adviser who couldn't get on the property ladder herself.

Also worth remembering that nurses who work shifts are predisposed to gain weight cos shift working screws up your circadian rhythms and your metabolism.

I am currently a ‘fat’ nurse - didn’t know it was thyroid related until 2 months ago, I am now on medication and weight is starting to reduce/ stabilise. My wonderful friend is a practice nurse she lost her husband to cancer 6 months ago and has struggled to eat well since - she is probably a size 6. We all have lives, things happen to us that can affect us in different ways - so if you can just try and be less judgmental that would be great!

And no I am not going to admit my ‘failings’ or the ‘fallings’ of my friend to you in a consultation.

You are a doctor seeking health advice from a nurse?

there a fitness instructor at my gym she is in fantastic shape I would train with her as think she clearly knows her shit ,lead by example and practice what she preaches

diet advice from someone over weight I’d be thinking do they know what’s there on about

doctors are out having their jollies and doing their yacht club dinners.

As a fulltime nhs doctor, I am clearly missing out! Where is my nearest yacht?!

Absolute bollocks. I'm a ward sister and the doctors ask me questions just as much as the other way round. We have different types of knowledge, but luckily none of the doctors I work with have a condescending attitude like yours. I suppose you have a massively high IQ? 😒

@zendeveloper why wouldn’t Drs seek advice from a nurse?

Perhaps the fat nurses were giving you good dietary advice so you don't end up fat like them.

I'd have thought healthcare workers would be more likely to be overweight because:

1. Shift work is awful for your health, and lack of sleep makes you hungry;
2. It's a horribly stressful job, and often there aren't any proper breaks so no chance to get something healthy to eat - lots of vending machine snacks and fast food;
3. It can be a very upsetting job, leading to comfort eating.

Nobody actively wants to be fat, but the fact is most people are, and the reasons are more complex than a lack of self control.