Have just read this interesting article on the BBC news web site:

Fat equals lazy, say doctors

Obesity has many causes Doctors are guilty of wrongly believing that obese people are simply lazy, research suggests. Researchers at Yale University said the findings highlight the difficulty in tackling the stigma around obesity.

Many obese people complain that others believe they are overweight simply because they eat too much or fail to exercise.

This is despite the fact that obesity can be caused by a variety of other factors, such as genes and environment.

Dr Marlene Schwartz and colleagues carried out psychological tests on 389 professionals who treat and study obese people.



You can read the article in full at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3143012.stm

Ah, yes, there's nothing quite like a visit to a doctor who is predisposed to assume that I am fat because I am lazy. I had to visit my doctor's office a couple of months ago to have some stitches taken. Couldn't see my regular doc so I saw his partner. His partner is a fitness buff. He did the stitches, then started making comments about people who eat meat all the time --- blah, blah, blah - don't exercise, blah, blah, blah.

Saw the partner again a week or so ago for an ear infection. I've lost weight and he made a comment and asked what diet I was following. I looked him straight in the eye and said Atkins and I don't want to hear any of your negative comments about it. It works far better than that low fat/high carb starve to death on less than 1,000 calories a day diet YOU think I should be following. I get a lot of exercise with my dogs everyday and when the weather is good I walk about a mile on my lunch hour everyday plus housework, yardwork, cardio - I don't think I'm lazy.

I will avoid the partner from now on. Can't stand him anyway! My regular doc is a real gem and I don't know how he got such a stuffy partner.