Obese patients who feel judged by doctors are less likely to shed pounds

[Northerner]

Overweight and obese people who feel their physicians are judgmental of their size are more likely to try to shed pounds but are less likely to succeed, according to results of a study by Johns Hopkins researchers.

The findings, reported online last week in the journal Preventive Medicine, suggest that primary care doctors should lose the negative attitudes their patients can sense if the goal is to get patients with obesity to lose 10 percent or more of their body weight?an amount typically large enough to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes risk.

"Negative encounters can prompt a weight loss attempt, but our study shows they do not translate into success," says study leader Kimberly A. Gudzune, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Ideally, we need to talk about weight loss without making patients feel they are being judged. It's a fine line to walk, but if we can do it with sensitivity, a lot of patients would benefit."

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-02-obese-patients-doctors-pounds.html