A doctor's weight strongly influences how they treat their patients' weight issues, according to a new study.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that only 18 per cent of overweight or obese physicians discussed weight loss with their patients, compared to 30 per cent of normal weight physicians.
The study of 500 primary care physicians in the U.S. also found that a vast majority of doctors–93 per cent–only diagnosed obesity in their patients if they believed they were the same weight or less than the people they were treating.
As well, when overweight or obese doctors did discuss weight loss with their patients, they were more likely to prescribe medications rather than changes to diet and exercise compared to normal weight physicians.
"I was totally surprised by the findings," lead author Sara Bleich, an assistant professor of health policy at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Time magazine.
The study sheds light on complexities of the doctor-patient relationship and suggests that physicians' own health issues can play a powerful role in the treatment of patients.
"I'd be surprised if this behaviour is intentional. I think a lot of it is subconscious. What this study suggests is that physical attributes of physicians have a much bigger contribution to their care of patients that I realized before," prof. Bleich said.
It's a particularly important issue considering that 54 per cent of physicians in the study were overweight or obese.
This is not the first time researchers have looked at how physicians' lifestyles can sway the ways in which they treat their patients. Research has also shown that doctors who smoke were less likely to recommend smoking cessation to patients who smoked.
Have you noticed if your doctors' personal health affects the advice they give you?
Dave McGinn