Why health professionals don't like obese clients

It is probably not news to anyone working in a health care setting that dealing with obese clients can be frustrating and at times infuriating. Why can't these people just eat less and move more? How can anyone let themselves get so large? Why can't they simply be "wise" about their weight?

Well, if you or some health professional you know has difficulty in dealing with obese clients, you are not alone. In fact you may be interested that the Obesity Society just released a new slide deck on Weight Bias in Health Care Settings.

In this new slide talk, Rebecca M. Puhl, PhD, and Kelly Brownell, PhD, present the growing body of scientific evidence which demonstrates that weight bias among healthcare professionals has serious, negative impacts on the quality of healthcare services provided to overweight and obese patients in healthcare facilities. They also discuss what providers can do to reduce any bias which they may have in their practice.

This is why we are keen to develop a CH-wide sensitivity training intiative, spearheaded by the WW program, to ensure that no obese client experiences weight-bias or discrimination in the CH region.

AMS