Gimme a break!-----'Fat-shaming' by doctors is 'physically harmful,' prof says

'Fat-shaming' by doctors is 'physically harmful,' prof says

A psychology professor gave a lecture at an academic conference Thursday claiming that “medical fat shaming” at the doctor’s office is “mentally and physically harmful.”

Joan Chrisler asserted that doctors "repeatedly advise weight loss for fat patients" rather than CAT scans or blood work, and also commit "microaggressions" like wincing at their medical charts.

Chrisler acknowledged that it is impossible to prove causation behind her claim that fat shaming has negative health consequences, pointing out that “it would be unethical to do such an experiment.”

A psychology professor gave a lecture at an academic conference Thursday claiming that “medical fat shaming” at the doctor’s office is “mentally and physically harmful.”

“Disrespectful treatment and medical fat shaming, in an attempt to motivate people to change their behavior, is stressful and can cause patients to delay health care seeking or avoid interacting with providers,” Connecticut College professor Joan Chrisler told attendees at the 125th annual convention of the American Psychological Association.

"Medical fat shaming, in an attempt to motivate people to change their behavior, is stressful."    Tweet This

Asserting that doctors “repeatedly advise weight loss for fat patients while recommending CAT scans, blood work, or physical therapy for other, average weight patients,” she argued that “recommending different treatments for patients with the same condition based on their weight is unethical and a form of malpractice.”

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During her presentation, titled “Weapons of Mass Distraction—Confronting Sizeism,” Chrisler said there are many ways that doctors commonly microaggress against fat patients, not just in their approach to medical treatment, but even through interpersonal interactions..."

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