We need to talk about our obesity problem

We need to talk about our obesity problem

DOCTORS have been warned by NSW Health not to use words such as “obese” to describe a patient’s weight in case they get offended.

The new guidelines instruct health professionals to use “positive” language when discussing sensitive issues such as weight.

Doctors have also been told to refrain from using words such as “skinny”, “malnourished” and “morbidly obese” and instead replace them with less-judgmental phrases like “well above a healthy weight”.

The term obese is based on Body Mass Index — a physical measurement used to assess a person’s total amount of body fat. It is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of your height in metres.

NSW Health’s Centre for Population Health executive director Jo Mitchell told The Daily Telegraph that the policy has been introduced to avoid “potentially offensive or stigmatising” phrases when doctors dealing with overweight adults and children.

“We know that when we raise it in this positive way that there’s a better impact,” she said. “So not at all downplaying the seriousness of (weight problems), it’s just using language which is more engaging.”

The new guidelines are based on advice from clinicians and parents, who have suggested that words like obesity can be very “stigmatising”, particularly for children dealing with weight issues.

But not everyone agrees with this new gentle approach, with Australian Medical Association president Dr Michael Gannon labelling the guidelines “crazy”.

He told the Macquarie Radio Network on Tuesday that, while he agrees that words like “fat” should be avoided, “obese” is a medical term and doctors should be able to use it if it applies to a patient — even a child.

“None of it’s perfect, and the reality is it is a medical definition. Now, it’s not the first time that NSW Health has come up with a crazy idea like this,” Dr Gannon said.

“I think the use of the word ‘fat’ is a bit outdated. We don’t want people to get upset in their interactions with doctors, but practising medicine’s not a popularity contest,” he said.

“You have to give uncomfortable news to patients, you have to come up with treatment or management plans they’re not necessarily happy about, and this directive flies in the face of common sense.”



–With AAP