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On the second page of this article is a small note from BC/BS of Minnesota saying that since the state-wide ban on smoking has gone into effect, they will be switching the use of some of their funds from smoking cessation to battling obesity.
Thank you, BC/BS, I hope that money you're going to spend on the battle against obesity will be for the education of doctors. and by education of doctors, I mean teaching them the facts. Like the fact that obesity doesn't kill the majority of fat people, that obesity isn't the cause of most diseases, that the fat people who are shown on the news are a very, very small percentage of all obese people (most obese people, according to BMI, would only look a little chubby to most of us). How about the fact that carrying a few extra pounds can help you survive infections, cancers, and heart problems? How about the fact that heavier people live longer? The studies are out there that show all of these facts, so why are doctors and insurance companies ignoring them?
How about educating doctors to look at fat people as PEOPLE, not just as fat, lazy, gluttonous, and stupid (some of us are one or more of those, some of us are none of those, but we ALL deserve respect, no matter what). How about educating doctors to look beyond fat for actual causes of illness/disease? Why not educate doctors to give good care, regardless of a person's size, and remember the caveat FIRST: DO NO HARM? Is that too much ask?
Sunday, November 11, 2007
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I have a good friend who works for BC/BS in Minnesota, and I've interviewed there myself. We're a winter climate, so we tend to have more obese people, and I know from walking through their office that they do have a lot of plus size people working for them, so they can match the face to the health records if they want to in order to draw any conclusions.
ReplyDeleteI'll see what comments I can get from my friend who works in that office about all this - she's done the crash diet thing in an attempt to get some professional recognition to no avail, and she may have some sharp comments on this one.
http://fatchic.dianarajchel.com
Thanks, I appreciate that. I will say that being fat in Minnesota has its advantages (I don't get as cold as some of my thinner friends do when the temps drop below zero).
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