Re: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese patients? :: May 30, 2011 ... American Medical News

June 16, 2011

Not surprised. Just last night I gave a lecture to PA student about obesity and

raised the issue of attitude towards obese pt. I would say this is against the

" do no harm " ought . Wouldn't you think it is?Obese ppl are being discriminated

against and this is " just " another brick.If it was up to me, I would complain

about these MDs to the AMA ethics committee to put their license on probation

till they take more truing about how to treat obese ppl and to know to refer

them to us.

Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: v.weaverrd@...

Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:18:54 -0400

Subject: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese patients? :: May

30, 2011 ... American Medical News

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/30/hll20530.htm

Sent from my iPhone

June 16, 2011

Not surprised. Just last night I gave a lecture to PA student about obesity and

raised the issue of attitude towards obese pt. I would say this is against the

" do no harm " ought . Wouldn't you think it is?Obese ppl are being discriminated

against and this is " just " another brick.If it was up to me, I would complain

about these MDs to the AMA ethics committee to put their license on probation

till they take more truing about how to treat obese ppl and to know to refer

them to us.

Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: v.weaverrd@...

Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:18:54 -0400

Subject: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese patients? :: May

30, 2011 ... American Medical News

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/30/hll20530.htm

Sent from my iPhone

June 16, 2011

Remember it would be like c/o to the ADA (they can't do anything), not all

docs belong to the AMA. Each state has their own MD licensing board. But

keep in mind each doc has the ability to decline service to anyone unless

they show up in the ER and they are on call. (MY husband was an ER doc and

some of those docs didn't show up or answer their calls) I don't like the

bias either but we can't force them. Maybe they are not equipped to see them

and their problems. We wouldn't want a dermatologist helping us when we have

a heart attack. It is like MDs who refuse medicaid and medicare patients

because many times they end up losing money when they see them. Should we

force them to...just a few thoughts!

>

> Not surprised. Just last night I gave a lecture to PA student about obesity

> and raised the issue of attitude towards obese pt. I would say this is

> against the " do no harm " ought . Wouldn't you think it is?Obese ppl are

> being discriminated against and this is " just " another brick.If it was up to

> me, I would complain about these MDs to the AMA ethics committee to put

> their license on probation till they take more truing about how to treat

> obese ppl and to know to refer them to us.

>

> Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: v.weaverrd@...

> Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:18:54 -0400

> Subject: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese patients?

> :: May 30, 2011 ... American Medical News

>

> http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/30/hll20530.htm

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

June 16, 2011

YOu got a point, I didn't think AMA is the ADA equivalent...but there is some

board for MDs and even if it is in the state level.Refusing to take pts bc of

insurance preferences, happens all the time, and I understand that. Don't always

like it, but understand it. There are plenty of RDs and a relatively new trend

of MDs who do not take any insurance. OUt of pocket and you go and ask for

reimbursement/fight with your insurance carrier. It eliminates all mid-class and

even higher-middle class pts and those who earn less, and it also likely to

eliminate less educated ppl bc they wold not know how to fight the insurance

carrier I am educated and am intimidated of the taught), but this is a

preference of business. Just like some businesses accept certain credit cards

and not all, others only cash or check.Rejecting a pt bc you cannot help them

properly, that is also fine IF they refer to one who is more appropriate for

whatever the situation is.But refusing care bc someone is obese? I am sure that

if we said that MD didn't want to care for pt who was

black/white/yellow/gay/straight, we would all be easily screaming

" discrimination " . I don't see why it is not here.

Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:06:46 -0400

> Subject: Re: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese patients?

:: May 30, 2011 ... American Medical News

>

> Remember it would be like c/o to the ADA (they can't do anything), not all

> docs belong to the AMA. Each state has their own MD licensing board. But

> keep in mind each doc has the ability to decline service to anyone unless

> they show up in the ER and they are on call. (MY husband was an ER doc and

> some of those docs didn't show up or answer their calls) I don't like the

> bias either but we can't force them. Maybe they are not equipped to see them

> and their problems. We wouldn't want a dermatologist helping us when we have

> a heart attack. It is like MDs who refuse medicaid and medicare patients

> because many times they end up losing money when they see them. Should we

> force them to...just a few thoughts!

>

> >

> > Not surprised. Just last night I gave a lecture to PA student about obesity

> > and raised the issue of attitude towards obese pt. I would say this is

> > against the " do no harm " ought . Wouldn't you think it is?Obese ppl are

> > being discriminated against and this is " just " another brick.If it was up to

> > me, I would complain about these MDs to the AMA ethics committee to put

> > their license on probation till they take more truing about how to treat

> > obese ppl and to know to refer them to us.

> >

> > Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: v.weaverrd@...

> > Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:18:54 -0400

> > Subject: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese patients?

> > :: May 30, 2011 ... American Medical News

> >

> > http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/30/hll20530.htm

> >

> > Sent from my iPhone

> >

June 17, 2011

100% agreement !!

On Fri, Jun 17, 2011 at 4:10 AM, Weaver wrote:

> **

>

> It would be nice to read an article in AMA news about MDs staffing

> their offices with RDs to provide MNT for their patients! Here is a

> headline: " MDs writing more Prescriptions for MNT; RDs unable to keep

> up with the demand " .

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

> >

> > YOu got a point, I didn't think AMA is the ADA equivalent...but

> > there is some board for MDs and even if it is in the state

> > level.Refusing to take pts bc of insurance preferences, happens all

> > the time, and I understand that. Don't always like it, but

> > understand it. There are plenty of RDs and a relatively new trend of

> > MDs who do not take any insurance. OUt of pocket and you go and ask

> > for reimbursement/fight with your insurance carrier. It eliminates

> > all mid-class and even higher-middle class pts and those who earn

> > less, and it also likely to eliminate less educated ppl bc they wold

> > not know how to fight the insurance carrier I am educated and am

> > intimidated of the taught), but this is a preference of business.

> > Just like some businesses accept certain credit cards and not all,

> > others only cash or check.Rejecting a pt bc you cannot help them

> > properly, that is also fine IF they refer to one who is more

> > appropriate for whatever the situation is.But refusing care bc

> > someone is obese? I am sure that if we said that MD didn't want to

> > care for pt who was black/white/yellow/gay/straight, we would all be

> > easily screaming " discrimination " . I don't see why it is not here.

> >

> > Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:06:46 -0400

> >> Subject: Re: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese

> >> patients? :: May 30, 2011 ... American Medical News

> >>

> >> Remember it would be like c/o to the ADA (they can't do anything),

> >> not all

> >> docs belong to the AMA. Each state has their own MD licensing

> >> board. But

> >> keep in mind each doc has the ability to decline service to anyone

> >> unless

> >> they show up in the ER and they are on call. (MY husband was an ER

> >> doc and

> >> some of those docs didn't show up or answer their calls) I don't

> >> like the

> >> bias either but we can't force them. Maybe they are not equipped to

> >> see them

> >> and their problems. We wouldn't want a dermatologist helping us

> >> when we have

> >> a heart attack. It is like MDs who refuse medicaid and medicare

> >> patients

> >> because many times they end up losing money when they see them.

> >> Should we

> >> force them to...just a few thoughts!

> >>

> >>>

> >>> Not surprised. Just last night I gave a lecture to PA student

> >>> about obesity

> >>> and raised the issue of attitude towards obese pt. I would say

> >>> this is

> >>> against the " do no harm " ought . Wouldn't you think it is?Obese

> >>> ppl are

> >>> being discriminated against and this is " just " another brick.If it

> >>> was up to

> >>> me, I would complain about these MDs to the AMA ethics committee

> >>> to put

> >>> their license on probation till they take more truing about how to

> >>> treat

> >>> obese ppl and to know to refer them to us.

> >>>

> >>> Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: v.weaverrd@...

> >>> Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:18:54 -0400

> >>> Subject: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese

> >>> patients?

> >>> :: May 30, 2011 ... American Medical News

> >>>

> >>> http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/30/hll20530.htm

> >>>

> >>> Sent from my iPhone

> >>>

June 17, 2011

Overweight is the new normalmericans are living large. Extra large. As in

XXXXL large. As in baby-powdered-thighs large. As in wheezing, heaving,

bust-the-car-suspension large.

Overweight<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/health/physical-conditions/overweig\

ht-HEDAI0000052.topic>has

become the new normal, and society is straining to accommodate our

ever-expanding waistlines. We plant plush bottoms on wider seats in theaters

and toilet stalls, drape ourselves in plus-sized clothing, even go to our

eternal rest in broader coffins.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/health/diseases-illnesses/u.s.-cent\

ers-for-disease-control-prevention-ORGOV000011.topic>,

more than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and a third, some 72

million people, are considered obese. From 1980 to 2008,

obesity<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/health/physical-conditions/obesity-HED\

AI0000057.topic>rates

doubled for adults and tripled for children, with 17 percent, or 9

million children over 6, classified as obese.

The average American is 23 pounds heavier than the ideal body weight.

Experts blame the usual bugaboos: lack of exercise and side-splitting food

consumption.

" There's definitely a new norm, " said Dr. Kushner, clinical director

of the Northwestern Comprehensive Center on Obesity at Northwestern

University in Illinois. " It's a norm that, 'My entire family and my

community is overweight, and that's what I am.' "

Businesses, eyes on the bottom line, are adapting to the physical

requirements of the heftier among us.

Revolving doors, for example, have widened from 10 feet to 12 feet in recent

years. Scales, which seldom went over 300 pounds, now go up to 400 or 500

pounds.

Here are a few other areas in which the super-sized generation is changing

our culture.

*Feeding frenzy*

Food portions, ever bigger, continue to grow to meet yawning appetites. New

York nutritionist R. Young estimates fast-food servings are two to five

times what they were in the 1950s. When it debuted 40 years ago, the Big Mac

was but a wee patty of 3-ounce meat. Today, fast-food chains serve up

12-ounce burgers loaded with 1,000 calories.

When it first opened, a

Mc's<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/lifestyle-leisure/dining-drinking/m\

cdonalds-PLENT000009.topic>soda

was 7 ounces. Now a small soft drink is 16 ounces, and convenience

stores pitch a 64-ounce bucket of soda — a full half-gallon. The result: In

the 1970s, an American gulped down an average of 27 gallons of soda a year.

Today that figure is 44 gallons.

And sweets? Cookies today, Young says, are 700 percent larger than

USDA<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/science-technology/agricultural-research-\

technology/u.s.-department-of-agriculture-ORGOV0000241.topic>standards.

A brownie recipe from the 1960s called for 30 servings. The same

recipe today calls for 16.

*Garbing the girth*

Clothing outlets have expanded plus-sized inventories. Bulky clothes are

available for children as young as 3, and

Target<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/economy-business-finance/consumer-goods\

-industries/target-corp.-ORCRP014887.topic>and

Forever 21 offer plus-sized fashions for teens. Quadruple-extra-large

shirts are on the rack for men with 60-inch waists.

" Vanity sizing, " in which manufacturers adjust apparel size downward so it's

more palatable for women, is spreading. A size 4 today was, 20 years ago, a

size 8. Some 62 percent of American women wear a size 14 or larger.

But full-size fashion has its price: Plus-sized clothing, which uses more

material, costs 10 to 15 percent more than regular apparel.

*High-volume cargo*

Federal officials have increased the average passenger weight for buses and

commercial boats, from 150 pounds to 175 pounds for bus passengers and from

160 pounds to 185 pounds for boat passengers. Buses must be stronger and

bigger to handle folks of amplitude, and boats must trim their passenger

lists.

Government regulations for car seat belts, set in the 1960s, require them to

fit a 215-pound man with a hip circumference of 47 inches. In 2003, however,

the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/travel/transportation/national-\

highway-traffic-safety-administration-ORGOV0000165.topic>estimated

that more than 38 million people, or 19 percent of Americans, were

too large for their seat belts. To accommodate heftier drivers, some car

manufacturers include seat belts that are 18 to 20 inches longer, or offer

seat belt extenders.

LINK<http://www.sun-sentinel.com/health/fl-overweight-new-normal-20110601,0,6911\

307.story>

> 100% agreement !!

>

> On Fri, Jun 17, 2011 at 4:10 AM, Weaver wrote:

>

>> **

>>

>> It would be nice to read an article in AMA news about MDs staffing

>> their offices with RDs to provide MNT for their patients! Here is a

>> headline: " MDs writing more Prescriptions for MNT; RDs unable to keep

>> up with the demand " .

>>

>> Sent from my iPhone

>>

>> >

>> > YOu got a point, I didn't think AMA is the ADA equivalent...but

>> > there is some board for MDs and even if it is in the state

>> > level.Refusing to take pts bc of insurance preferences, happens all

>> > the time, and I understand that. Don't always like it, but

>> > understand it. There are plenty of RDs and a relatively new trend of

>> > MDs who do not take any insurance. OUt of pocket and you go and ask

>> > for reimbursement/fight with your insurance carrier. It eliminates

>> > all mid-class and even higher-middle class pts and those who earn

>> > less, and it also likely to eliminate less educated ppl bc they wold

>> > not know how to fight the insurance carrier I am educated and am

>> > intimidated of the taught), but this is a preference of business.

>> > Just like some businesses accept certain credit cards and not all,

>> > others only cash or check.Rejecting a pt bc you cannot help them

>> > properly, that is also fine IF they refer to one who is more

>> > appropriate for whatever the situation is.But refusing care bc

>> > someone is obese? I am sure that if we said that MD didn't want to

>> > care for pt who was black/white/yellow/gay/straight, we would all be

>> > easily screaming " discrimination " . I don't see why it is not here.

>> >

>> > Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:06:46 -0400

>> >> Subject: Re: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese

>> >> patients? :: May 30, 2011 ... American Medical News

>> >>

>> >> Remember it would be like c/o to the ADA (they can't do anything),

>> >> not all

>> >> docs belong to the AMA. Each state has their own MD licensing

>> >> board. But

>> >> keep in mind each doc has the ability to decline service to anyone

>> >> unless

>> >> they show up in the ER and they are on call. (MY husband was an ER

>> >> doc and

>> >> some of those docs didn't show up or answer their calls) I don't

>> >> like the

>> >> bias either but we can't force them. Maybe they are not equipped to

>> >> see them

>> >> and their problems. We wouldn't want a dermatologist helping us

>> >> when we have

>> >> a heart attack. It is like MDs who refuse medicaid and medicare

>> >> patients

>> >> because many times they end up losing money when they see them.

>> >> Should we

>> >> force them to...just a few thoughts!

>> >>

>> >>>

>> >>> Not surprised. Just last night I gave a lecture to PA student

>> >>> about obesity

>> >>> and raised the issue of attitude towards obese pt. I would say

>> >>> this is

>> >>> against the " do no harm " ought . Wouldn't you think it is?Obese

>> >>> ppl are

>> >>> being discriminated against and this is " just " another brick.If it

>> >>> was up to

>> >>> me, I would complain about these MDs to the AMA ethics committee

>> >>> to put

>> >>> their license on probation till they take more truing about how to

>> >>> treat

>> >>> obese ppl and to know to refer them to us.

>> >>>

>> >>> Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDNA 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: v.weaverrd@...

>> >>> Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:18:54 -0400

>> >>> Subject: amednews: Should doctors ever turn away obese

>> >>> patients?

>> >>> :: May 30, 2011 ... American Medical News

>> >>>

>> >>> http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/30/hll20530.htm

>> >>>

>> >>> Sent from my iPhone

>> >>>

June 17, 2011