Health Care setting Not Immune to Weight Bias General Surgery News June 2010, Vol. 37, no. 6

10:55 28.06.2010

 Many Doctors and Nurses harbor negative views of obese patients: The good news is that studies show signs of improvement. The reluctance to visit health care providers gets worse among patients with higher body mass index. As a result, preventative health care is poorest among obese patients who are at higher risk for many cancers. Even the most enlightened, intelligent and well-intentioned professionals harbor some bias, often so subtle that they are unaware of it. If you are HIV+ and have survived just to become obese. Survival from HIV is obviously important, but becoming obese may be as dangerous as AIDS. Obese patients not only have more risk for cancer, but heart disease, stroke, diabetes, severe infections and liver and kidney disease. Diet and exercise are the most important preventative measures an obese patient can undertake. It doesn't matter so much what type of diet, although a Mediterranean diet is the best, but it all comes down to how many calories you consume each meal. If all else fails then a consideration for a minimally invasive surgical procedure has given relief from obesity now. A large number of HIV+ patients have safely undergone anesthesia, and the infection rate from a gastric banding procedure is much like their HIV negative friends.