Do you or would you trust a fat doctor?

brianthebard · 20-01-2007 08:28PM #1

Last night there was a few people on the late late discussing the mrsa issue, and one of them was a doctor in a high position in the HSE. He was also quite clearly obese.
Now, maybe this isn't an issue for some people, but I personally would feel very wary of trusting a doctor who is very much obese. If he can't take care of his own body, should I trust him with mine?

Opinions please. I know this may seen kinda controversial but I really think its a serious question, so please try and treat it as such.

Crucifix · 20-01-2007 08:33PM

It wouldn't bother me.

stepbar · 20-01-2007 08:33PM

Well its a case of do as I say not as I do. I dont see the problem. If he is obese that is his problem not yours and as such should not effect his ability to practice as a doctor. Mind you if he was an alco then clearly there would be a problem if he was drunk on the job.

User45701 · 20-01-2007 08:38PM

i dont see a problem no for allot of people i think eating too much and getting fat has a mental component to it and some of the smartest people can have emotional problems and be ****ing stupid aswell but they do still know all the facts relating to there profession they would know everything from all the books and classes otherwise they would not be doctors

RoundyMooney · 20-01-2007 08:39PM

What about a clinically obese health minister?

simu · 20-01-2007 08:40PM

Yes, yes I would. A doctor must give good health advice to patients but they're not obliged to follow such themselves. Also, you can't judge if you don't know about the doc's own circumstances and that's his or her own business tbh.

Winters · 20-01-2007 08:44PM

RoundyMooney wrote:

What about a clinically obese health minister?

I dont think many people trust her .......... well, not around their food anyway.

Sangre · 20-01-2007 09:00PM

Would you distrust a sports manager who couldn't compete at the top level himself?

Ruu_Old · 20-01-2007 09:06PM

It wouldn't bother me a whole lot. How they look after themselves is their own lookout.

The_Minister · 20-01-2007 09:17PM

RoundyMooney wrote:

What about a clinically obese health minister?

A minister is more of an administator, than an actual doctor. No-one would xpect her to have medical knowledge.

iFight · 20-01-2007 09:17PM

It wouldn't bother me either, just because he doesnt do what's best for him doesn't mean he doesn't know it

Corruptedmorals · 20-01-2007 09:52PM

Wouldn't bother me, it could be due to a glandular problem.

InFront · 20-01-2007 09:54PM

Of course not. Your weight doesn't have any implications for your ability to practice medicine. I know fat, smoking, drinking (all different people!) doctors, there are a few dudes on the RCSI/ RCPI Sports & Exercise Medicine Board who could do with a treadmill for certain. But they all got their medical degrees through study and hard work, not dieting. It's kind of like suggesting your dentist must have his own (natural) teeth.

Equally I don't care that the Health Minister is overweight. I don't care what she eats for breakfast, as long as she does her job. Which isn't really apparent.

Kojak · 20-01-2007 10:34PM

It wouldn't bother me if the doctor was overweight, or for that matter underweight. If they could do the job, given their physical condition, that's all I would care about.

The only time I think that it could become an issue is if the doctor started to lecture a patient about being overweight. Then it could become a little hypocritical - after all they are always telling us to "eat right and get plenty of exercise"

kizzyr · 20-01-2007 11:25PM

Kojak wrote:

It wouldn't bother me if the doctor was overweight, or for that matter underweight. If they could do the job, given their physical condition, that's all I would care about.

The only time I think that it could become an issue is if the doctor started to lecture a patient about being overweight. Then it could become a little hypocritical - after all they are always telling us to "eat right and get plenty of exercise"

Interestingly my GP is rather overweight. She is an excellent doctor however and has proved this several times over, not just for me but for other members of my family. My mum has a very sweet tooth and tends to comfort eat when things get tough for her. One time she happened to be at the doctors for something and the GP noticed that she'd put on quite a bit of weight. She did say it to my mum in a very nice way but laughed sardonically and said " I know I'm not one to talk but trust me if you don't nip it in the bud it gets harder and harder to shift". My mum took this really well, all the more so because she didn't try to pretend that she had no problem herself.

stepbar · 20-01-2007 11:36PM

kizzyr wrote:

Interestingly my GP is rather overweight. She is an excellent doctor however and has proved this several times over, not just for me but for other members of my family. My mum has a very sweet tooth and tends to comfort eat when things get tough for her. One time she happened to be at the doctors for something and the GP noticed that she'd put on quite a bit of weight. She did say it to my mum in a very nice way but laughed sardonically and said " I know I'm not one to talk but trust me if you don't nip it in the bud it gets harder and harder to shift". My mum took this really well, all the more so because she didn't try to pretend that she had no problem herself.

well that is fair enough... honest doc TBH

brianthebard · 21-01-2007 02:15AM

Interesting reactions...personally I just feel they should lead by example.

To the person who said it could be glandular though, you realise how rare that is right?

Kolodny · 21-01-2007 02:44AM

Personally, it wouldn't make a difference to me - if a doctor I visit is overweight because of poor habits, medical reasons or anything else, it has nothing to do with me and I wouldn't assume that they're not going to give me best care/advice.

I have a friend who is a GP who doesn't 'practice what he preaches' in that he's a heavy smoker, but that wouldn't make me doubt his ability as a doctor. He presents a very anti-smoking front to all his patients and probably understands a bit better why some people find it so hard to quit because he has found it so hard himself. Ok, I know this is a bit different because it's not something that's physically obvious but the point I'm trying to make is that medical professionals are human beings who are as prone to health issues as the rest of us and that shouldn't have any bearing on ability for the job.

brianthebard · 21-01-2007 02:53AM

Kolodny wrote:

Personally, it wouldn't make a difference to me - if a doctor I visit is overweight because of poor habits, medical reasons or anything else, it has nothing to do with me and I wouldn't assume that they're not going to give me best care/advice.

I have a friend who is a GP who doesn't 'practice what he preaches' in that he's a heavy smoker, but that wouldn't make me doubt his ability as a doctor. He presents a very anti-smoking front to all his patients and probably understands a bit better why some people find it so hard to quit because he has found it so hard himself. Ok, I know this is a bit different because it's not something that's physically obvious but the point I'm trying to make is that medical professionals are human beings who are as prone to health issues as the rest of us and that shouldn't have any bearing on ability for the job.

Fair point I get what you are saying.

Rhyme · 21-01-2007 02:55AM

Wouldn't bother me, unless i saw them eating.

connundrum · 21-01-2007 05:07AM

I had a doctor tell me once that my blood pressure was fine.. and I found that hard to belive considering everyone else who had tested my blood pressure found it to be high - and it was only the obese doctor who said I was fine.. turns out the fatty doc was right.

Note to self, stop judging on appearance Goddamnit!

Faith · 21-01-2007 11:46AM

My doctor is obese and she's fantastic. She's really thorough and easy to talk to. I never even noticed that she was obese until I thought about it while reading this thread.

dSTAR · 21-01-2007 12:08PM

Corruptedmorals wrote:

Wouldn't bother me, it could be due to a glandular problem.

I love this one.

I used to work with a chick who was grossly over weight and she put it down to her metabolism. It wasn't the fact that she would eat a pie, fried dim sim and cake for morning tea. Although she did have a healthy salad at lunch which was usually washed down by a litre of Pepsi Cola. :rolleyes:

stepbar · 21-01-2007 12:11PM

brianthebard wrote:

Interesting reactions...personally I just feel they should lead by example.

Why should they? Its irrelevant and has NOTHING to do with how the doctor practices his / her profession. The Doctor diagnoses your problems and hopefully solves them; doesnt necessarily mean that they have to solve their own.

brianthebard · 21-01-2007 12:26PM

dSTAR wrote:

I love this one.

I used to work with a chick who was grossly over weight and she put it down to her metabolism. It wasn't the fact that she would eat a pie, fried dim sim and cake for morning tea. Although she did have a healthy salad at lunch which was usually washed down by a litre of Pepsi Cola. :rolleyes:

Roffles you should have told her that overweight people have a higher metabolism by virtue of the fact that they have more weight to carry around.

faceman · 21-01-2007 01:00PM

what a silly thread. He's a doctor, wouldnt bother me in the slightest.

hunnymonster · 21-01-2007 04:37PM

brianthebard wrote:

Interesting reactions...personally I just feel they should lead by example.

To the person who said it could be glandular though, you realise how rare that is right?

Most of us don't work Dr's hours though. It's not that easy to eat healthily, get enough exercise and sleep when you're working all the time.

Vorsprung · 21-01-2007 07:04PM

hunnymonster wrote:

Most of us don't work Dr's hours though. It's not that easy to eat healthily, get enough exercise and sleep when you're working all the time.

.

whiskeyman · 21-01-2007 07:26PM

On a similar note, would you trust a dentist with bad teeth?

monkeyfudge · 21-01-2007 07:32PM

I wouldn't trust a fat doctor... they'd only go and spend the €50 I gave them on cheeseburgers.

Flukey · 21-01-2007 08:37PM

So what if the doctor is fat? That does not make him a bad doctor.

DoctorEdgeWild · 21-01-2007 08:46PM

Very interesting thread I think. I am surprised at the responses, I thought there would be more against the fat docs.

I would have a problem with a doctor who was obese giving me health advice purely because I would like some of the old 'practice what you preach' mentality among those who I sought advice from.

It reminds me of a guy from whom I used to buy supplements (protein, creatine etc.) from who looked like he had never seen the inside of a gym in his life. He had good prices though!

Another interesting point from earlier in this discussion was Mary Harney as health minister. When I first saw this thread's title, I immediately thought of her and wondered how long it would be before she received a mention (5 posts if I recall!). Surely she is not the ideal person to deal with the country's growing obesity problem? Would it be foolish of me to suggest that a rethinking is needed by governments in so far as an ex nurse/doctor/consultant would be a better minister for health and an ex truck/taxi driver or logistics expert would make a better minister for transport. I know this is far from recognised practice and would put a limit as to how high a 'career politician' could rise but it does seem better to me than the current system. All this from fatty doctors?!

InFront · 21-01-2007 08:55PM

I would have a problem with a doctor who was obese giving me health advice purely because I would like some of the old 'practice what you preach' mentality among those who I sought advice from.

So you're basically talking about a guy who not only gives six years of training, maybe seven prior to registration, works his ass off (study-wise if not sports-wise), is required to keep himself updated with regard to Continual Professional Education and has gone through strict post-registration professional assessments, and you have a problem with him because he (or she...) doesn't look like someone who goes out jogging before morning surgery?

Ask your local GAA hero for his help next time you have the flu (or worse) and see how far you get!!

DoctorEdgeWild · 21-01-2007 09:06PM

I never doubted our hypothetical doctor's credentials nor comittments to the intensely tough and time consuming training. The question was 'would you trust a fat doctor?' The 'you' in this case meaning all posters on here I presume. I mean that I would not trust advice on a subject like avoiding the medical problem of obesity from a person who is subject to that particular medical issue.

I wouldn't go so far as to consult a baker or indeed GAA player on a leg break or skull fracture, a doctor, no matter how obese, would be the better bet there quite clearly.

InFront · 21-01-2007 09:12PM

I think an obese doctor could be pretty valuable in seeing how obesity can happen and therefore warning off others.
It's like the case of an alcoholic telling his kids not to drink, or a father with false teeth warning his kids to floss.

Thrill · 21-01-2007 09:17PM

My doctor is pretty fat but he is a great doc.

What about not judging people on how they look?

JC 2K3 · 21-01-2007 09:36PM

A doctor is a professional expert on the workings of the body, medical conditions and drugs, not a role model.

DoctorEdgeWild · 21-01-2007 09:43PM

I take your point, but obesity is in 99% of cases a question of a person not being able to manage their eating habits for whatever reasons. If the obese person was carted from school to school saying 'look at me kids, eat your greens' then it would serve a purpose, but an absolute waste of the afforementioned training.

You'll still find me in the waiting room if I have a serious problem, regardless of the size of my doctor but I wouldn't ask an obese person for help on managing obesity unless it was a complaint I wished to cultivate when an equally trained doctor was available who didn't have this problem.

EDITed in response to above comment: It's not judging people on how they look, obesity is a medical condition, ugliness is not.

Trinity · 21-01-2007 10:00PM

There are a few doctors in my local health centre.

My own doctor is lovely, the first thing i notice about her everytime i go into her is her eyes are always sparkling and the whites so white, i immediately assume she must eat healthily and live a very healthy lifestyle, but i dont reckon that makes her any better a doctor than the other one who, imo, is very underweight.

I just think they are human, its not always easy to be disciplined even if you do know the impact on your health, they have personal lives too we dont know whats going on when they leave the practice!

So yes i would trust a fat doctor. We all know what we should be doing to be more healthy, we just dont always do it - says she just after polishing off a kebeb platter from ishkanders

Thrill · 21-01-2007 10:21PM

DoctorEdgeWild wrote:

EDITed in response to above comment: It's not judging people on how they look, obesity is a medical condition, ugliness is not.

I was not referring to beauty. People can look fat and ugly.:)

nesf · 21-01-2007 11:50PM

Anyone who follows/expects a 'practice what you preach' situation for theoretical knowledge confuses me. Take a dietician. It's a theoretical knowledge based career. You don't have to do diet X and suffer from Y to know that being on diet X is good for people who have Y. Yet some people wouldn't trust the opinion of an overweight/obese dietician. That's just non-sensical in reality, whether or not they are overweight has nothing to do with whether they have the knowledge to do their job well. Outside of whether people consider it shallow to judge based on appearance or whatever, genuinely the two things have nothing to do with each other.

You could rationally rephrase it as you would prefer not to have a fat dietician because you'd prefer someone who 'practiced what they preached' but you would have to accept that the fat one could be as or more capable as the non-fat one as a dietician.

22-01-2007 12:38AM

Corruptedmorals wrote:

Wouldn't bother me, it could be due to a glandular problem.

There is a cure for this. Its called stop eating.

Do you or would you trust a fat doctor?

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