Can Blacks Get Good Weight-Loss Advice? Fat Chance

[Guest guest]

(CBS) It's a matter of black and white, at least for fat people.

Compared to their white counterparts, obese African-Americans get less

advice from their doctors on weight reduction and on the importance of

exercise, according to a new study.

" Previous studies have shown disparities in the proportion of black obese

adults informed by physicians that they were overweight compared to white

obese adults, " study author Dr. , professor of epidemiology at

s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a written

statement. " We now also see that black patients are receiving different

medical counseling as well. "

The

study<http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2010330a.html>was

published in the Jannuary 2011 online issue of " Obesity. "

The scientists analyzed 2,231 doctor visits of white and black obese

patients, all age 20 or older. They had expected to find that the

weight-loss advice African-Americans received depended in part on the race

of their doctors - with those being seen by white doctors getting poorer

weight-loss advice than those being seen by African-American doctors.

It didn't turn out that way. Black patients got poorer advice no matter the

race of the doctor.

" This suggests that regardless of the physician's race, black obese patients

receive less weight-related counseling than white obese patients, " study

author Dr. Sara Bleich, assistant professor of health policy and management

at the Bloomberg School, said in the statement.

What explains the finding? The researchers don't know for sure but said a

number of factors could be involved, including doctors' negative views

toward black patients.

What do you think?

LINK here <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20028525-10391704.html>

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

Check out my blog: mixture of deals and

nutrition**<http://thefrugaldietitian.com/?p=12001><http://thefrugaldietitian.co\

m/?p=10437> " Nutrition

is a science, Not an Opinion survey "

[Guest guest]

You asked what we think.....

1. I am wondering if we all remember (and by " all " I refer to all healthcare

professionals) that the Metlife wt ranges tables where done by statistics of

MetLife, collecting data of their WHITE clients, who were likely of middle class

and up.

Maybe it is time to collect such statistics on African-Americans, Hispanics and

Asians as the are, in general, falling " off " the charts either up or down.

2. Even BMI is questioned as a tool. Elderly dont always fit into the BMI tables

as well, and in my experience elderly mostly don't fit, and this study concluded

ppl 20 yo + .

3. the study talks about 2231 doctor visits, not pts, in the course of 2 years.

Not so hard to achieve. 50 pts X 1 visit per wk is 2600 visit per year(!). they

did not specify how many actual pts they had in the study, I can easily assume

that they had even a smaller sample of 26 pts, and I can assume that 20 where

white and 2 where Afr-Amer and that they were seen by 3 Afr-Amer MDs and 2 white

MDs.

I am a bit disappointed with this study and Hopkins and what it tries to

imply.

4. Maybe we also, as a society, accept the fact that Afr-Amer individual of BMI

of 30 (notice I am specifying 30, not 35 or 40) is not " obese " for this

population (given #1), while for white person it is less acceptable.

I really would love to hear what reseraches think of that....anybody?

Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDN

A dietitian, not the food police.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/meravlevi

" Life is not measured by the number of breath you take, but by the moments that

take your breath away. " - Carlin

" People don't forget the truth, they just become better in lying " (Revolutionary

Road)

To: rd-usa

From: nrord1@...

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:46:14 -0500

Subject: Can Blacks Get Good Weight-Loss Advice? Fat Chance

(CBS) It's a matter of black and white, at least for fat people.

Compared to their white counterparts, obese African-Americans get less

advice from their doctors on weight reduction and on the importance of

exercise, according to a new study.

" Previous studies have shown disparities in the proportion of black obese

adults informed by physicians that they were overweight compared to white

obese adults, " study author Dr. , professor of epidemiology at

s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a written

statement. " We now also see that black patients are receiving different

medical counseling as well. "

The

study<http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2010330a.html>was

published in the Jannuary 2011 online issue of " Obesity. "

The scientists analyzed 2,231 doctor visits of white and black obese

patients, all age 20 or older. They had expected to find that the

weight-loss advice African-Americans received depended in part on the race

of their doctors - with those being seen by white doctors getting poorer

weight-loss advice than those being seen by African-American doctors.

It didn't turn out that way. Black patients got poorer advice no matter the

race of the doctor.

" This suggests that regardless of the physician's race, black obese patients

receive less weight-related counseling than white obese patients, " study

author Dr. Sara Bleich, assistant professor of health policy and management

at the Bloomberg School, said in the statement.

What explains the finding? The researchers don't know for sure but said a

number of factors could be involved, including doctors' negative views

toward black patients.

What do you think?

LINK here <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20028525-10391704.html>

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

Check out my blog: mixture of deals and

nutrition**<http://thefrugaldietitian.com/?p=12001><http://thefrugaldietitian.co\

m/?p=10437> " Nutrition

is a science, Not an Opinion survey "

[Guest guest]

You asked what we think.....

1. I am wondering if we all remember (and by " all " I refer to all healthcare

professionals) that the Metlife wt ranges tables where done by statistics of

MetLife, collecting data of their WHITE clients, who were likely of middle class

and up.

Maybe it is time to collect such statistics on African-Americans, Hispanics and

Asians as the are, in general, falling " off " the charts either up or down.

2. Even BMI is questioned as a tool. Elderly dont always fit into the BMI tables

as well, and in my experience elderly mostly don't fit, and this study concluded

ppl 20 yo + .

3. the study talks about 2231 doctor visits, not pts, in the course of 2 years.

Not so hard to achieve. 50 pts X 1 visit per wk is 2600 visit per year(!). they

did not specify how many actual pts they had in the study, I can easily assume

that they had even a smaller sample of 26 pts, and I can assume that 20 where

white and 2 where Afr-Amer and that they were seen by 3 Afr-Amer MDs and 2 white

MDs.

I am a bit disappointed with this study and Hopkins and what it tries to

imply.

4. Maybe we also, as a society, accept the fact that Afr-Amer individual of BMI

of 30 (notice I am specifying 30, not 35 or 40) is not " obese " for this

population (given #1), while for white person it is less acceptable.

I really would love to hear what reseraches think of that....anybody?

Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDN

A dietitian, not the food police.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/meravlevi

" Life is not measured by the number of breath you take, but by the moments that

take your breath away. " - Carlin

" People don't forget the truth, they just become better in lying " (Revolutionary

Road)

To: rd-usa

From: nrord1@...

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:46:14 -0500

Subject: Can Blacks Get Good Weight-Loss Advice? Fat Chance

(CBS) It's a matter of black and white, at least for fat people.

Compared to their white counterparts, obese African-Americans get less

advice from their doctors on weight reduction and on the importance of

exercise, according to a new study.

" Previous studies have shown disparities in the proportion of black obese

adults informed by physicians that they were overweight compared to white

obese adults, " study author Dr. , professor of epidemiology at

s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a written

statement. " We now also see that black patients are receiving different

medical counseling as well. "

The

study<http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2010330a.html>was

published in the Jannuary 2011 online issue of " Obesity. "

The scientists analyzed 2,231 doctor visits of white and black obese

patients, all age 20 or older. They had expected to find that the

weight-loss advice African-Americans received depended in part on the race

of their doctors - with those being seen by white doctors getting poorer

weight-loss advice than those being seen by African-American doctors.

It didn't turn out that way. Black patients got poorer advice no matter the

race of the doctor.

" This suggests that regardless of the physician's race, black obese patients

receive less weight-related counseling than white obese patients, " study

author Dr. Sara Bleich, assistant professor of health policy and management

at the Bloomberg School, said in the statement.

What explains the finding? The researchers don't know for sure but said a

number of factors could be involved, including doctors' negative views

toward black patients.

What do you think?

LINK here <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20028525-10391704.html>

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

Check out my blog: mixture of deals and

nutrition**<http://thefrugaldietitian.com/?p=12001><http://thefrugaldietitian.co\

m/?p=10437> " Nutrition

is a science, Not an Opinion survey "

[Guest guest]

You asked what we think.....

1. I am wondering if we all remember (and by " all " I refer to all healthcare

professionals) that the Metlife wt ranges tables where done by statistics of

MetLife, collecting data of their WHITE clients, who were likely of middle class

and up.

Maybe it is time to collect such statistics on African-Americans, Hispanics and

Asians as the are, in general, falling " off " the charts either up or down.

2. Even BMI is questioned as a tool. Elderly dont always fit into the BMI tables

as well, and in my experience elderly mostly don't fit, and this study concluded

ppl 20 yo + .

3. the study talks about 2231 doctor visits, not pts, in the course of 2 years.

Not so hard to achieve. 50 pts X 1 visit per wk is 2600 visit per year(!). they

did not specify how many actual pts they had in the study, I can easily assume

that they had even a smaller sample of 26 pts, and I can assume that 20 where

white and 2 where Afr-Amer and that they were seen by 3 Afr-Amer MDs and 2 white

MDs.

I am a bit disappointed with this study and Hopkins and what it tries to

imply.

4. Maybe we also, as a society, accept the fact that Afr-Amer individual of BMI

of 30 (notice I am specifying 30, not 35 or 40) is not " obese " for this

population (given #1), while for white person it is less acceptable.

I really would love to hear what reseraches think of that....anybody?

Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDN

A dietitian, not the food police.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/meravlevi

" Life is not measured by the number of breath you take, but by the moments that

take your breath away. " - Carlin

" People don't forget the truth, they just become better in lying " (Revolutionary

Road)

To: rd-usa

From: nrord1@...

Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:46:14 -0500

Subject: Can Blacks Get Good Weight-Loss Advice? Fat Chance

(CBS) It's a matter of black and white, at least for fat people.

Compared to their white counterparts, obese African-Americans get less

advice from their doctors on weight reduction and on the importance of

exercise, according to a new study.

" Previous studies have shown disparities in the proportion of black obese

adults informed by physicians that they were overweight compared to white

obese adults, " study author Dr. , professor of epidemiology at

s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a written

statement. " We now also see that black patients are receiving different

medical counseling as well. "

The

study<http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2010330a.html>was

published in the Jannuary 2011 online issue of " Obesity. "

The scientists analyzed 2,231 doctor visits of white and black obese

patients, all age 20 or older. They had expected to find that the

weight-loss advice African-Americans received depended in part on the race

of their doctors - with those being seen by white doctors getting poorer

weight-loss advice than those being seen by African-American doctors.

It didn't turn out that way. Black patients got poorer advice no matter the

race of the doctor.

" This suggests that regardless of the physician's race, black obese patients

receive less weight-related counseling than white obese patients, " study

author Dr. Sara Bleich, assistant professor of health policy and management

at the Bloomberg School, said in the statement.

What explains the finding? The researchers don't know for sure but said a

number of factors could be involved, including doctors' negative views

toward black patients.

What do you think?

LINK here <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20028525-10391704.html>

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

Check out my blog: mixture of deals and

nutrition**<http://thefrugaldietitian.com/?p=12001><http://thefrugaldietitian.co\

m/?p=10437> " Nutrition

is a science, Not an Opinion survey "

[Guest guest]

Excellent points, Merav. Although I am of European descent, a mix of

Spanish, Italian and unkown others but most likely native Caribbean

dwellers, I am from the Caribbean, and as such, while growing up in Puerto

Rico was considered unattractively scrawny, although certain body parts

exceeded what anglos considered attractive, and others caused wide open

eyes, grins and at times envy or doubt that they were original parts. In

some coutries a BMI of 20 is still considered quite unattractive and

unhealthy, and thin persons that meet with our approval here, are cause of

worry to parents and friends, even their doctors.

I think the focus needs to be on a healthy body and mind. Excessively high

weights we all know cause discomfort as well as impede certain physical

activities, and increase morbidity. So do excessively low weights. Studies,

tables and charts are just guidelines and we, RDs, as well as all healthcare

professionals need to use our tools and expertise to determine healthy

weight.

BTW - I love your by-line below your sig

Digna

Can Blacks Get Good Weight-Loss Advice? Fat Chance

(CBS) It's a matter of black and white, at least for fat people.

Compared to their white counterparts, obese African-Americans get less

advice from their doctors on weight reduction and on the importance of

exercise, according to a new study.

" Previous studies have shown disparities in the proportion of black obese

adults informed by physicians that they were overweight compared to white

obese adults, " study author Dr. , professor of epidemiology at

s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a written

statement. " We now also see that black patients are receiving different

medical counseling as well. "

The

study<http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/oby2010330a.html>

was

published in the Jannuary 2011 online issue of " Obesity. "

The scientists analyzed 2,231 doctor visits of white and black obese

patients, all age 20 or older. They had expected to find that the

weight-loss advice African-Americans received depended in part on the race

of their doctors - with those being seen by white doctors getting poorer

weight-loss advice than those being seen by African-American doctors.

It didn't turn out that way. Black patients got poorer advice no matter the

race of the doctor.

" This suggests that regardless of the physician's race, black obese patients

receive less weight-related counseling than white obese patients, " study

author Dr. Sara Bleich, assistant professor of health policy and management

at the Bloomberg School, said in the statement.

What explains the finding? The researchers don't know for sure but said a

number of factors could be involved, including doctors' negative views

toward black patients.

What do you think?

LINK here <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20028525-10391704.html>

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

Check out my blog: mixture of deals and

nutrition**<http://thefrugaldietitian.com/?p=12001><http://thefrugaldietitia

n.com/?p=10437> " Nutrition

is a science, Not an Opinion survey "