“Doctors tend to shoo away people who have obesity,” says Dr. Scott Kahan, who was quoted in an Associated Press article published on The Huffington Post.
The article, Obesity Screening: Doctors Urged To Routinely Check Patients’ BMIs, describes the recent update by the United States Preventive Services Task Force that reiterates the importance of primary care screening for obesity.
Dr. Kahan argues that insurance companies often don’t cover services aimed to treat obesity and comprehensive weight management programs aren’t often available to patients who need them. He further points out the doctors tend to shoo away those who have obesity, often with attitudes such as “Don’t come back to me and tell me your back hurts or you have acid reflux or high cholesterol until you will do something about it.'”
The article points out that Dr. Kahan has created and teaches several courses to medical students and other young professionals intended to help train them to have a compassionate, scientific, and strategic perspective toward helping patients with obesity to build an empowered approach to managing their health.