Well I guess they can. I just read this blog about doctors "firing" or not accepting people (women) because they weigh more than 200 pounds.

It sights liability issues and staff members getting hurt while asisting obese patients. I can't believe this is even legal! Although I should not be surprised, in the past I am sure many of you have also had run ins wit doctors to blame every health issue on your weight. While I understand being obese can cause some health problems or make some worse, it is not the cause of any and all illness and or injury. One time I went to the octor becuse I had cut my thumb badly (the bone was visable). Before the doctor even looked at my thumb he bagan lecturing my about my weight (excuse me, but can't you lecture and stitch at the same time...I'm BLEEDING here!) Then the real kicker came, he asked what I cut my thumb on...I was opening a can of chili and the my can opener wasn't working properly so I tried to pry the lid open. He then said, and I quote, "If you ate less processed, healither food you wouldn't weigh so much, and you wouldn't have cut yourself." REALLY...I cut myself because I'm fat??? Needless to say it was the first and last time I ever saw that jerk!

I am interested in what others have to say about this. Here is the link to the blog.

http://healthbeat.areavoices.com/201...-fat-patients/

Well, it would be blatant discrimination at the very least. Maybe a letter to the Doctor's association may change their minds (you know the one that garners their license). Maybe outing them in the local media may shame them into compliance with anti-discrimination laws too.

There will always be ignorant people who try to discriminate against all groups -- the elderly, the obese, ethnic & other minority races, women, the poor, etc. We just have to speak up and tell our legislators that we will not accept this kind of abuse; and of course, use your $$$ to talk by going to another doctor.

BTW, skinny people get hurt on the job even more than large people do; as larger people tend to be stronger, so their rationalization is flawed. On the jobs I worked on (in 4 nursing homes), it was always the small, skinny ladies that complained of sore backs, sore legs, and sore feet; and took more time off too.

See that's the problem, they ARE in compliance with anti-discrimination laws, because in most (nearly all) states it's perfectly legal to discriminate against people because of weight. It's perfectly legal for doctors to refuse to see fat patients.

Going to the media might work, but doctors also know that most fat people are going to be far too ashamed to go to the media and admit that a doctor wouldn't see them because of their weight (and they also know that they're going to get at least as much ridicule and animosity aimed at them for their weight and complaining about something "they can change" as the doctor will get for refusing to treat the fat person).

Just the posibility of this occuring is going to keep most fat folk from going to the media, because the last think most of us want to do is draw attention to how fat we are.

On one hand, I don't want a doctor who doesn't want to treat me, and on another hand it's absolutely ridiculous. What's next, refusing to see patients because they're sick? If doctors aren't willing to treat fat people, who will?

We live in a nation which believse that health care is a privelege, not a right. We have the right to life (only if we're lucky enough to be healthy), liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but we don't have a right to health care if we don't have the ability to pay for it. And now apparently we don't have the right to be seen by a doctor, even if we can afford it, if the doctor doesn't want to see us.

I read this thread with horror and gratitude that I live in the UK. I have come across doctors with severe anti-fat attitudes especially with regards to preventable and proven weight related disease. Orthopaedic surgeons over here will refuse joint replacement surgery until patients lose a specified ammount of weight because they are more likely to have complications and the prosthesis will not last as long. But how do you lose weight if your hip pain means you can barely walk? When I was a physio I worked with several patients to get them mobile enough to exercise to lose weight to have joint replacement surgery. It's a tough journey.
But to refuse to see patients who weigh over an arbitary figure is nonsense.
This could mean overweight people suffering even dying because they are unwilling or unable to see a doctor. I am angry on your behalf!!!

I always get a lot of guff from doctors about being overweight- almost every health problem I've ever had was blamed on my weight, until I pushed them to find an actual diagnosis. I hate to think of the number of obese/overweight women who get very sick or die because they're afraid to go to the doctor, or because when they do the doctor usually blames everything on obesity without checking for an actual cause. And now, one more thing to deny obese women medical care- this is just sickening.

KAPLODS ~ are you kidding me? A doctor in the US can legally discriminate against a patient based on their weight by refusing care? If that is so, then like the lady from the UK, I'm very glad that I live in Canada!

I did once have a doctor hint at that to me, and I asked him if he would like me to report him for discrimination -- he shut right up. Actually, he was a last-minute replacement doctor; so I chose a different doctor myself right away. It wasn't long before his arrogant & ignorant reputation preceded him and he had no patients; so he left town.

Later on, I was very blessed to meet a really kind & caring doctor who worked with me to help me lose some of this weight. Eventually, he left for academic reasons, but he helped me immensely; and I am carrying on by myself quite successfully.


You know as funny as that sounds; there are actually idiots in our province spreading around the idea that we should refuse to do any surgery on anyone 70 years old and over. If any politicians dared to try something so stupid, it would be political suicide -- esp when you consider that at least half our population is 50 years or older. Remember now, that means your Mom, your Dad, your Gramma & Grampa, your siblings, your aunties/uncles, etc. Hey seniors, it's time to unite; and yes, maybe it's time fluffys unite in the US too!!! And hey, I'm not kidding!!!

So depressing.

While it is sad, I should mention that the opposite is true many times. Doctors are afraid to even bring up weight with their patients because of the fear of what we're talking about here.

I have a Dr. who I love, who has never said a single word about my weight until I lost some of it. She raved about my new blood work and said 'you know, you were on your way to diabetes.' She never said that while I was at my highest weight? Why not?

Obesity is a medical issue that can lead to serious medical problems. I think doctors should definitely discuss weight with an overweight patient. To me, ignoring weight in a patient, is just like ignoring a patient that comes in with a broken foot.

I want to punch that doctor in the face so badly. Wow. What a moron.

vex i think you are right that doctors should discuss it with their patients but many lack the skills, especially when it comes to the psychological aspects of obesity. In this country as well, doctors are really limited in the time they are allotted for each patient, so if you go in with a chest infection they can't really address any other issues.
I am very lucky as our practice nurse is really supportive so I don't need to see the doctor for pain killers/anti-inflammatories in order to keep exercising to keep losing. She trusts me to know my own body which is great.

The thing is, discrimination is only illegal against "protected classes." There ARE some places in the US where weight is considered a protected class, but I believe that in most areas it's not considered one.

Either way it's complete madness to discriminate based on size.

While I think it stinks and that it's morally wrong of her to do this, it says in the article that she had 3 employees get hurt because of helping her obese patients. That is obviously the rationale behind her decision. In addition to what may have happened to her patients, her employees now are hurt and cannot do their jobs fully or at all. So she basically gets a double whammy--hurt patient--hurt employee--now her employee cannot work. Her employee is probably out on workman's comp so her workman's comp insurance goes up. And of course she's down an employee so she has to either hire a temp--which means that she has to take the time and money train someone to do the other girls work--or she has to work short handed, which is still going to cost extra time and money. If she is a smart person, she cannot afford to keep doing this and that is probably what her decision is based upon.

I think it's stupid of the doctor because once word of something like that gets out it makes people look at you with suspicion...doctors are supposed to be in the field to HELP people so why aren't you going to try to help these people. What is wrong with you that you won't help them? Where is your compassion? I don't see a doctor in this situation staying in business long. I know that I wouldn't go to her...

If employees got hurt helping obese patients, they didn't have the appropriate tools or training (and probably had neither).

That might be true, but it's probably the reason she made her decision. I wouldn't see her either way--even I was at my goal weight--because I think it's a rotten decision.

I should have made it more clear that I understand WHY medical facilities do not have the right training and equipment (or are unable to use what they DO have).

The American medical system is a HUGE mess. The profit margin has become the bottom line, and helping people has become secondary (and unfortunately it's not even a close second anymore. Helping people sometimes seem so far down the list of priorities that it's beyond shocking).

There seem to be two types of medical care. Expensive, patient-centered care (give the patient what he or she wants, not necessarily what is best for the patient and charge exorbitant prices for it, but cater to people who are willing to pay whatever it takes to get what they want). And drive-thru care... get the person in and out in 5 minutes and focus on short-term fixes so you can move on to the next patient.

It's become "triage" care. Neither the medical staff nor the patients are being encouraged to look for long-term solutions or to preventive care. Preventive care almost isn't in even in the medical vocabulary.

And it's not just obese patients who get inadequate attention, it's all of them. How can you get the best of a doctor's attention when he only gets 5 minutes to spend with you, because his appointments are scheduled every 10 minutes?

Our medical staff are not able to provide the "best care," because they have to provide the cheapest care that can be dispensed in the shortest amount of time.

I suspect that it's because all segments of our society (not just the fatties) are suffering from more and more health problems because of the unhealthy changes in our lifestyle (more stress, less sleep, more fat, carbs, and calories and less physical activity).

And because we have a "fix it" rather than a "prevent it" mindset, it's going to get worse before it gets better, especially when the profit motive becomes the bottom line.

Socialized medicine has it's own problems, but we have to start finding a way to make preventive medicine profitable and to make health a national priority. And I'm not sure how the changes can be made under the current system (in which only the very rich get richer, and less and less is left for the poor).

It's also getting harder and harder for people to self-educate themselves. The schools are cutting funding as their funding is being cut, and shady deals are being made (schools are funding educational programs WITH sales of junk food to the students, exacerbating the problem because profit has to come before the needs and even the health and wellness of the students).

The problem is so wide-spread it seems to be without solution. It would take a very drastic change in our cultural mindset to even begin to find solutions.