I've been trying to get in contact with the head of a weight loss study that my doctor referred me to. In speaking with her to see if I qualified, she basically told me I was too fat for it! huh? They want people who fall within a certain BMI number and mine is too high. The study is for people with slow metabolisms to try different approaches to sort of get the metabolism moving along.
I'd have to lose 50 lbs. to figure out why my metabolism isn't working! Oh boy! If I can do that, I might not need the study. *sheesh*
Yeah, that's a difficult issue with these kinds of studies. Imagine the people who have even more serious, imediately life-threatening illnesses and syndromes who are too "something" to take part in the test for a new medication or treatment protocol. To be so close and yet so far from hope is worse than not knowing the hope was ever there at all.
I lived in Lincoln, NE, where there is a drug lab that takes in participants (some for daily visits, some for "live in" studies- my SO's father cooked for the live-ins at one point) to run verious studies on the drugs that they were developing or that had already been released but might work in new ways. I learned that they almost never run any studies on female participants. This is because of the fear that someone might be pregnant and not know it, or they might become pregnant during the study. Fine, sounds fair. But it also means that there are a lot of drugs that we women take regularly that were never fully tested on any women before they were approved.
You aren't alone, I too, have been turned down numerous times because my BMI is like 46. Talk about a double edged sword, too fat for a study, but, not thin enough to feel comfortable around people. But, heck with them, I CAN do this on my own, and I WILL!!!!
Sorry you had that experience, I hope the woman you spoke to was kind about it -- sometimes how people inform you of something like that makes all the difference!
Remember, their decision isn't about you per se, it's that research studies focus on specific people to study and you just don't fit the profile. This is why I have said repeatedly that when you look at a research study, you need to look at the group of people they studied and their characteristics. The study may not apply to people outside that group. This may, in part, explain why studies on the same topic find different results -- they are studying different people!
Another thing that may or may not be comforting, is that being in a research study doesn't mean they are going to solve your problem. They are trying to figure out what happens to people who receive different treatments. You might end up being in a group that receives no treatment (as a comparison). In other words, the goal of the research doesn't necessarily match up with your own personal goal.
In other words, maybe it's just as well you didn't get in. Maybe your doctor can find something else for you to try.
As for Jen's comment, I remember how shocked I was when I first learned that so much of the drug research has been done without women (pregnancy fears) -- you're right! We don't know they work on women the same way, and it IS scary!
Any particular research study is always going to be limited by how the researchers chose to divide people into groups, measure their outcomes, and who they chose to study. When you're trying to understand the results of a study, these are some great questions to find the answers to...
Well that's odd. Perhaps they think it's a health risk or something? Well maybe it's for the best then! You can do this without the study, and it looks like you're off to a great start already. If you're looking for something different as in a program or system to help you, I may have something you'd be interested in. Feel free to PM me for info. Otherwise, just keep doing what you're doing because you seem to be making it work. That study could have involved lots of icky drugs and believe me there are better, safer, and even natural alternatives out there that can help you just as well if not better.
Also remember that just because it is a weight loss study does not necessarily mean that you will lose weight. If they are testing a medication they will give some of the group the medication and some of them will get a placebo. Also it depends on if they are just using the med or if they are monitoring your diet and exercise and giving you support with both of those. I don't think I could rely on something like this to help me lose weight. The people doing the study are interested in the study, not in you as a person.
I know that because it's a study they're looking for a specific type, and the woman was very nice, it was just crazy that in order to study my metabolism problems, I'd have to lose 50lbs. to find out why it was hard for me to lose weight. Nutty.
And yeah, I could very well have been in the control group and it might not have matched up to the goals I have set. I guess I was just having a bad day in general, and this didn't help.
I would call my doctor back and tell him that they refused you. I would tell him what the woman said, not to get you in, but so he doesn't do this to someone else.
YOU CAN DO THIS WITHOUT THE DUMB STUDY!!!!! I know every woman that posts here at your thread is cheering for you. Take it one day at a time, don't hop on that scale all the time, once a week is plenty, drink that water, get some exercise and work on the whys of your overeating. The lbs will be flying off you in no time.
JUST REMEMBER: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL THE WAY YOU ARE SO LOVE YOURSELF FAT AND YOU CAN LOVE YOURSELF THIN!!!
Too fat for a weight loss study
