![]() She agrees with weight-neutral providers like Moore that encouraging patients to exercise and eat nutritious food has obvious benefits. "For some folks who have a condition like diabetes, weight loss in combination with some lifestyle changes could be an option that they would choose," says Schur. Schur and others who specialize in obesity medicine say they recognize the need for a new approach when talking to patients about their weight, but they say it's still possible to encourage weight loss when appropriate. This author advises parents to reclaim the word 'fat' If done in a "respectful" manner, weight loss advice still has a role ![]() Shots - Health News Diet culture can hurt kids. "When someone loses weight, it kicks in a series of hormonal changes that tend to increase appetite and slow metabolism," says Ellen Schur, an obesity medicine doctor and researcher at UW Medicine. "If after that discussion, a patient still is fairly certain that they want to focus on weight loss," Moore says, "I do tell them that it is likely to fail in the long term."įor example, a meta-analysis of 29 long-term weight loss studies found that, on average for people with obesity, more than half of the weight lost was regained within two years and that more than 80% was regained within five years. She points to research showing that even well-meaning comments about weight from family members and doctors can increase exercise avoidance and that people with more internalized anti-fat attitudes are more likely to avoid exercise when they experience weight stigma. Moore says that emphasizing the inherent benefits of exercise can help people start, as well as stick with, a routine. ![]() ![]() "We recommend moving your body in a way that's sustainable, which hopefully is joyful," she says, and "eating food in a way that nourishes." Instead, she tells her patients that exercise and nutritious food are good for them regardless of whether or not they lose weight. "We don't recommend weight loss as a way of treating medical conditions," Moore says. The chairs and exam tables fit all patients.īut it's Moore's approach to talking about weight that's most different from a more traditional practice. Every exam room has an array of blood pressure cuffs for different-size arms, as well as gowns and speculums of various sizes. Moore started by trying to make her clinic feel comfortable for patients of all sizes. "In most cases, the care that you're providing should be the same no matter what the number on the scale is," says Tess Moore, a family medicine physician in Seattle who has made her practice weight neutral. of diagnoses that were missed because the focus was on weight," Erlanger says. Lisa Erlanger, who practices weight-neutral medicine and is a clinical professor at UW Medicine in Seattle. Providers sometimes miss major health problems - in both people with larger bodies and those with smaller ones - when they're too laser focused on a patient's weight, says Dr. Without asking questions, they say, health care providers suggest diets they've already tried and lifestyle changes they've already made. People with larger bodies often report that when they go to the doctor, their problems are ignored or written off as an inevitable result of their weight. Having a higher body mass index is correlated with heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer and other conditions.īut in recent years, research has shown that when clinicians focus on weight, it can lead patients to avoid or delay health care, including recommended cancer screenings. "And frankly, not everyone can do it."įor years, weight has been used as a measure of health in doctors' offices. Barak says she's assertive about advocating for the care she needs - but it's draining.
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