As doctors warn more patients that they should lose weight, the advice has backfired on one doctor with a woman filing a complaint with the state saying he was hurtful, not helpful.
Dr. Terry Bennett says he tells obese patients their weight is bad for their health and their love lives, but the lecture drove one patient to complain to the state.
"I told a fat woman she was obese," Bennett says. "I tried to get her attention. I told her, 'You need to get on a program, join a group of like-minded people and peel off the weight that is going to kill you.' "
He says he wrote a letter of apology to the woman when he found out she was offended.
Her complaint, filed about a year ago, was initially investigated by a panel of the New Hampshire Board of Medicine, which recommended that Bennett be sent a confidential letter of concern. The board rejected the suggestion in December and asked the attorney general's office to investigate.
Bennett rejected that office's proposal that he attend a medical education course and acknowledge that he made a mistake.
It doesn't take a doctor to let an obvious obese person know that he or she is obese and the person should get on an exercise and diet program.
Other overweight patients have come to Bennett's defense.
"What really makes me angry is he told the truth," Mindy Haney told WMUR-TV on Tuesday. "How can you punish somebody for that?"
Haney said Bennett has helped her lose more than 150 pounds, but acknowledged that she initially didn't want to listen.
"I have been in this lady's shoes. I've been angry and left his practice. I mean, in-my-car-taking-off angry," Haney said. "But once you think about it, you're angry at yourself, not Doctor Bennett. He's the messenger. He's telling you what you already know."
Tough love. There is no room for political correctness here when a person's life is at stake due to the risk and potential complications from obesity. Some people will do anything not to listen this and stick their fingers in their ears and go "na na na na na". Really sad.
It's all about taking personal responsibility of yourself as an adult. It is you who made who you are. Not McDonalds. Not the McRibs. Not the advertising billboards. Not your "All-you-can-eat" country buffets. It's you and your willpower, common sense and the drive to change who you are.
Hey, I can see how morbidly obese , obese to simply overweight people will come up with all kinds of excuses for not wanting to exercise or diet. They just don't want to face the prospect of exercising and dieting. In fact, you can see these attitudes almost every week (Sunday night) on VH1 "Celebrity Fit Club" . Some of the celebrities (or more correctly "celebrities") continue to have excuses for not exercising or sticking with their pre-planned dieting program. It's a fun, entertaining show that makes you want to cheer them on and watch the pounds come as they compete in teams to see who shed the most weight. And at the same time shake your head on why they act like that during there periods of self-denial?
Responsibility begins with you. Period. No more excuses, please. You can make all kinds of excuses til you're blue in the face but the bottom line is that it's your life. You make the changes that will benefit your health and have a positive lifestyle.
