Does it Matter What Your Doctor Looks Like?

A new study conducted by the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the John Hopkins University School of Medicine found  out that a doctor’s body size had an influence on how he or she cared for their patients with weight problems. The researchers found that out of the 500 primary care physicians that was part of this study, 30% of normal weight physicians discussed losing weight with their patients while only 18% of the overweight doctors did.

They also found out that 93% of doctors would diagnose obesity in their patients if they believed that their own weight was equal to or less than that of their patients. The study also found that more than half of physicians were overweight or obese (53%) which is a similar percentage to the 64% of the U.S. adults that fall in the same category.

What was also surprising was that when overweight or obese doctors did discussed obesity issues with their patients, they were more likely than their normal weight physicians to prescribe anti-obesity medications (26% vs. 18%) rather than diet and exercise.

The researchers concluded that the behavior is subconscious and not intentional. This study suggest that the physical appearance of doctors can be a bigger factor to how patients are taken care of than realized.

Read the original article here—courtesy of Times Healthland.

What do you think of this study?

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